Demand for action over failings in patient care

Mar 14 2008 Western Mail

HEALTH Minister Edwina Hart has ordered health bosses to ensure hospital services are safe after a report revealed a catalogue of failings in patient care.

An NHS investigations into the 10 community hospitals in Powys – all run by a local health board – said they were unable to meet standards and that hospital services should be provided by a single NHS trust.

The NHS Clinical Governance Support and Development Unit (CGSDU) uncovered a “series of serious incidents” at the hospitals after investigating patients’ safety.

Its report said, “We strongly recommend that arrangements are made for clinical in-patient services for acutely ill patients, surgical patients, age care consultant patients, and patients transferred from district general hospitals to community hospitals in Powys, to be provided by NHS trusts as soon as possible.

“In the interests of clinical governance and patient safety, all the acute clinical services in an individual community hospital should be provided by a single NHS trust.”

The report listed a “series of serious incidents” relating to patient safety in community hospitals and at two minor injuries units (MIU) at Newtown and Builth Wells.

In one incident at Newtown Hospital there was a “marked delay” in correctly diagnosing an injury and transferring an elderly mental health patient to a district general hospital.

The report also found:

A lack of consultant cover or oversight for patients in the care of GPs;

The lack of appropriate 24-hour on site medical cover for acutely ill patients, surgical patients and consultant patients in community hospitals;

Numerous centres and small populations leading to difficulty in sustaining enough staff to support the service, especially the smaller staff groups such as therapists;

Relatively few in-patients and low attendances spread across 10 small hospitals, making it difficult for staff to maintain expertise or acquire experience in some specialties such as MIUs;

High levels of sickness absence in many units.

The report added, “Overall, we found the provision of safe services for patients in community hospitals to be compromised.

“Community hospitals have made a huge contribution to the health and welfare of the people of Powys during the last century, and in some cases the century before that. But they now find themselves unable to meet the standards that people rightly expect from a modern health care service.”

The CGSDU examined all the hospitals in Powys in the second part of its examination into Powys LHB and its services.

Chris Mann, Powys LHB’s chair, said, “What the report tells us in a nutshell is that a range of services still need to be provided in Powys, but that some of these services need to be provided in a different way and, indeed, some of them will have to be provided by other NHS organisations.”

An Assembly Government spokesman said, “The minister is very concerned with the patient safety issues highlighted in the report and has asked the LHB to take immediate action to ensure services in Powys are made safe.

“Patient safety must be our top priority.”

Kirsty Williams, Liberal Democrat AM for Brecon and Radnorshire, said, “There are clearly some concerning issues raised within the report about the safe delivery of health and care services within Powys.

“While I fully recognise that these issues need to be addressed with urgency it is also essential that this report is used as the stimulus to develop services in our community hospitals and increase the support for our hard working staff and not be used as an excuse to close our facilities.

“I am sure we can address the concerns outlined by the report and ensure my constituents have access to high quality services near to where they live.”