England’s biggest NHS trust ‘requires improvement’

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust has been told by CQC inspectors it requires improvement amid concerns over patient safety.

 

Inspectors visited three sites run by the trust in June, with findings including “concerning disparities” in processes across the hospitals, and some staff reporting that their concerns about patient care were not listened to.

 

The watchdog looked at emergency and urgent care at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham Heartlands Hospital and Good Hope Hospital.

 

Inspectors found that patients waiting to be seen were not always monitored adequately and safety checks on equipment were not always completed.  They also discovered appropriate steps were not consistently taken to ensure patient safety where lack of space led to patients waiting outside in ambulances, despite staff raising concerns.

 

However, CQC’s deputy chief inspector Fiona Allinson, said that despite the unprecedented challenges throughout the pandemic, the workforce had remained “unwavering in its focus on the needs of patients”.

 

“We saw that patients were treated with compassion and kindness, and there were some areas of good and outstanding practice – particularly in cancer services at QE.”

 

Chadwick Lawrence’s specialist team of clinical negligence lawyers have years of experience in medical negligence claims, providing support and guidance after life-changing events.  Not only do we represent clients in Yorkshire, but because of our reputation we also represent clients nationally.

 

If you believe that you or a relative may have been injured as a result of clinical/medical negligence, please call for free legal advice from our medical negligence solicitors on the freephone number below.

 

Posted by Karen Motley, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

 

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