Further CQC investigations into BHRUT highlight ongoing concerns

As reported by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) this morning...

CQC's investigation into Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRT) has revealed major concerns throughout the entire trust.

About the investigation

The CQC inspectors began the investigation into BHRT on 4 July 2011.

The investigation focused on maternity, elective and emergency care services provided at King George Hospital and Queen’s Hospital, and looked at the governance and management systems in place at the trust.

During the investigation investigators spoke to patients about their experiences of the services and interviewed more than 200 members of staff. They also conducted interviews and received written submissions from over 100 people who had previously used the trust's services.

Key findings

Despite some signs of improvement in recent months, patients still remain at risk of poor care, particularly those receiving maternity services.

Problems found in maternity services include:

• poor clinical care.
• abusive and unprofessional behaviour from staff.
• a lack of learning from maternal deaths and incidents.
• lack of leadership from senior management.

Other areas of concern can be found below.

• A&E services at Queen’s Hospital struggled to meet the target for admissions.
• Staff vacancies were filled by agency, locum or bank staff which had an impact on the quality of care.
• Lines of communication within the new structure were unclear.
• Trust governance systems and corporate governance were weak.
• Response to complaints was poor.

The Care Quality Commission has now made 16 key recommendations to the trust, which they will monitor through unannounced inspections.

They will then review evidence in March 2012 to determine whether it is delivering improvements or not.