'SOS' to Government over 'excess deaths, inadequate care and distressing experiences' in Shropshire hospitals

The Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (JHOSC) of Shropshire Council and Telford & Wrekin Council has written to the Secretary of State (SoS) for Health and Care to raise concerns about ongoing performance issues at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH).

The committee members say they are seeking a meeting with the Health Secretary alongside local health leaders to find "sustainable solutions for improving patient services and outcomes". 

The letter, which has been shared with local MPs, follows a May 2024 Care Quality Commission (CQC) report and a Channel 4 Dispatches programme in June which saw an undercover investigation undertaken at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

In May, SaTH, which manages both Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford and Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH), was given a 'requires improvement' rating by the CQC - an improvement on the trust's previous 'inadequate' grading from 2021.

While inspectors noted that improvements had been made at the county's emergency hospitals, they warned that more work needed to be done.

The following June, the Channel 4 programme revealed harrowing footage from inside RSH, including showing sick patients waiting overnight in a 'fit to sit' area due to a lack of trolleys - including of one patient being there for 30 hours and a suspected stroke case waiting for 24 hours. 

The letter, written on behalf of members of the JHOSC, reads: "The committee is deeply concerned about the ongoing poor performance at SaTH and the impact this is having on patients, their friends, family and staff. 

"The most recent CQC report and the Channel 4 ‘Dispatches’ programme highlighted issues that we have been scrutinising for the past two years (and raising concerns about for more than a decade). 

"The programme vividly depicted the reality of the data and issues we have been challenging locally since before the [Covid] pandemic and as part of the more recent NHS recovery work. 

"The committee have also been working with the local health system to understand more about what appears to be a higher-than-expected number of excess deaths in the SaTH urgent and emergency care departments. 

"Although no conclusions have yet been drawn there is data to suggest excess death rates at SaTH-run A&E services are significantly higher than they are expected to be and appear to be at higher levels in comparison with other trusts. 

"All the issues above, as well as the well-documented historic issues of inadequate care, poor outcomes, and distressing experiences for patients and their families within the trust's maternity department risk a loss of confidence in the services provided by the trust and there is evidence of this occurring with patients already seeking care elsewhere."

The letter goes on to mention the committee members had considered writing to the Government following the documentary, but were waiting to "fully explore the matter at a local level first", adding they were "concerned when informed by the local NHS officers that they were not surprised by the outcomes of the CQC report or the findings of the Dispatches programme".

It continues: "Over the years that the committee have been working with the NHS locally on these and related issues there have been numerous changes to leadership in the organisations. Whilst change to senior staffing is not unusual, it is the experience of the committee that despite their best efforts this churn has not resulted in changes discussed and expected, and that despite these efforts, ongoing performance issues at SaTH compel us to write to you."

Councillor Fiona Doran and Councillor Geoff Elner, joint chairs of the committee, said: “We took the decision to write to the SoS because the levels of performance in our hospitals have long been given a low rating by the CQC. We believe that the different actions that have been taken over the past decade have not realised the lasting improvements that were expected.

“There are a lot of people working hard in health and care locally, in a system that is under significant pressure. We recognise this. However, our concerns and the issues which we have identified are only going to be addressed sustainably by the whole system working together at all levels to help people access the care and services they need.

“We recognise that it is a locally challenged health and care system within a nationally broken NHS, as described by the SoS, and we want to work with the NHS locally to make improvements and get the support it needs to make it happen. We see this as the beginning of the next phase and hope that the SoS responds to our SOS.

“We’ve had a strong focus on the main hospitals in our area over recent years but also maintained a view of what is happening in our communities and how these services relate to what happens at the Princess Royal Hospital and Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

“Whilst we’ll never stop looking at our hospitals, the system response to meeting health and care needs in the community is resolving to be our next priority, and we look forward to working with all those who are involved.

“We value the experience of people who use health and care services and are fortunate that both HealthWatch Shropshire and HealthWatch Telford and Wrekin are co-opted members of our joint committee.”

The full letter is available to view online at shropshire.gov.uk/committee-services/documents/s39780/Letter%20to%20SOS%20Final.pdf.