The Chief Inspector of Hospitals has taken urgent action to protect people at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust following inspections at its maternity and emergency departments.
Unannounced inspections of services, including maternity and urgent and emergency care, at The Princess Royal Hospital and Royal Shrewsbury Hospitals took place between 21 to 31 August.
Concerns were highlighted with regard to the trust’s reduced foetal movements guidelines during the inspection of maternity services and a further unannounced inspection took place on 7 September.
The inspections also highlighted concerns regarding urgent and emergency care particularly with regard to the treatment and recognition of sepsis.
As a result of these inspections conditions have been placed on the trust’s registration. The conditions demand that the trust reports weekly to CQC detailing action it has taken to ensure the system in place for clinical management of patients using midwifery services at The Princess Royal and Royal Shrewsbury Hospitals is effective.
With regard to its urgent and emergency services, the trust must report weekly to CQC detailing its action to ensure the system in place for management of deteriorating patients and sepsis at The Princess Royal and Royal Shrewsbury Hospitals is effective.
The condition also states that trust must ensure its emergency department at The Princess Royal Hospital is safe with equipment stored safely, that risk assessments are carried out and reviewed to ensure the environment remains safe and that all staff are aware of and adhere to protocols.
Professor Ted Baker, Chief Inspector of Hospitals, said: “We remain very concerned about the emergency department and maternity services at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust as a result of our inspections.
“This is why we have imposed urgent conditions on the trust’s registration to safeguard patients. The conditions require the trust to report to CQC on a weekly basis detailing the action it is taking to ensure the safety of patients using its emergency and maternity services, through its systems and audits.
“We are monitoring the trust extremely closely and continue to work with NHS Improvement to ensure patient safety improves. We will return to check on whether sufficient improvements have been made and will take further action if needed.”
The full findings of CQC’s inspections at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust will be published shortly. The trust is currently rated as Requires Improvement overall.
Ends
For further information, please contact Louise Grifferty, Regional Engagement Manager on 07717 422917. Journalists wishing to speak to the press office outside of office hours can find out how to contact the team here: www.cqc.org.uk/media/our-media-office
Please note: the press office is unable to advise members of the public on health or social care matters.
For general enquiries, please call 03000 61 61 61