England's Chief Inspector of Hospitals has recommended Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust is placed in special measures after a Care Quality Commission inspection resulted in it receiving an overall rating of ‘Inadequate’.
The trust was judged as ‘Inadequate’ with regard to whether services were safe, caring and well-led. It was rated as ‘Requires Improvement’ for whether services were effective and responsive.
Inspection teams had particular concerns about Accident and Emergency and medical care. Critical care, maternity and outpatients were all judged as good.
CQC’s Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards, said: “We have given the trust an overall rating of ‘Inadequate’ and I have made a recommendation to the Trust Development Authority (TDA) that the trust is placed into special measures. We have informed the TDA of the breaches and it will make sure these are appropriately addressed and that progress is monitored through the special measures action plan.
“Our inspection at Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust highlighted a number of serious concerns, surrounding staffing and risks to patient safety particularly in the A&E department and medical care. There were substantial and frequent staff shortages in the A&E department. There were a number of other areas of concern, some of which related to the way in which the trust is led and run. This is the first time that CQC has rated a trust inadequate for ‘caring’.”
The full report and summary are available on the website, as well as the press release.
Find out more
Read reports from our checks on the standards at Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust.