Care regulator tells Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust improvements are needed

16 March 2011

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has told Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust that the care it provides was not meeting the essential standards of safety and quality people should be able to expect.

Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust is near Leytonstone in the London borough of Waltham Forest and serves a local population of more than 350,000 people. The trust provides a full range of medical services for inpatients and outpatients including maternity and paediatric services.

CQC carried out a routine review of the trust to check whether it was meeting 16 essential standards. A visit to Whipps Cross Hospital took place on 14 December 2010 and the review was completed in January.

The regulator has told the hospital where it needs to improve and its inspectors will follow up to ensure those improvements are made. There were five minor concerns with essential standards relating to respecting and involving people who use the services, cleanliness and infection control, the safety and suitability of premises, the support of workers and complaints.

CQC also found moderate concerns with

• Staffing: Community (maternity) staff were found to be either working excessive hours or had unsustainable caseloads in their attempts to balance all demands on the service
• Records: It was unclear if maternity staff worked to the same record management system or if staff understood existing systems.

Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, the Care Quality Commission has a number of enforcement powers that enable it to act swiftly when services are failing people. These include issuing warning notices, restricting the services that a provider can offer or the way it is provided; or, in the most serious cases, suspending or cancelling a service. CQC can also issue financial penalty notices and cautions or prosecute the provider for failing to meet essential standards.

Colin Hough, Regional Director of CQC in London said, “Although patients were positive about the care and treatment they had received and complimentary about the attitude and helpfulness of staff, Whipps Cross hospital is not meeting all of the essential standards people should be able to expect. We have told the trust where it needs to do more to comply.

“We have asked the trust to reply within 14 days of receiving CQC’s report, setting out the action they will take to improve. We will follow up to make sure that the improvements have been made.”

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For further information please contact the CQC press office on 0207 448 9401 or out of hours on 07917 232 143.

Notes to editors