End of life care must be improved in Shropshire's hospitals, say MPs

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said both the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford has to do better in four out of five key areas and has also been given a "requires improvement" rating overall.

Today Glyn Davies, Montgomeryshire MP, said every effort must be made to improve the standard of care quickly.

He concentrated on end of life care, which was criticised by the inspectors said there was "still much more to be done".

The "safety and effectiveness" of the mortuary arrangements was highlighted, particularly at the RSH.

The inspectors said that facilities for bereaved relatives to view deceased loved ones were "not conducive to their needs", particularly for children.

Mr Davies said his worry was that end of life care was in danger of being overlooked.

He said: "My biggest concern arises from the report's criticism of end of life care. This is often a Cinderella service in hospitals and it must be improved.

"Every life should be valued and treated respectfully until death intervenes. Nothing else is acceptable in a civilised society."

The report was made public this week following a three-day inspection of the two sites back in October last year.

In it, hospital bosses were criticised for low nursing levels and consistently failing to meet the Government target of seeing all A&E patients within four hours or less.

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust said it has addressed many of the issues raised by the inspectors.

It praised the staff, who were praised by inspectors for their caring attitude.

Mr Davies said: "Patients deserve the best quality care when they are in hospital and the Care Quality Commission's report makes it clear that improvement is needed.

"It is welcome that care at the Shropshire hospitals is on an improving path, and the report is better than it might have been two years ago, but every effort must be made to build on this quickly."