Councillors want answers from Shropshire hospital chiefs
Shropshire health bosses have been called before councillors after the Care Quality Commission announced enforcement action against the county’s hospital trust.
Representatives from Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital (SaTH) Trust will be asked to respond to the findings when the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee of Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin councils meets next Wednesday.
The “urgent” action was announced last week after an inspection from the CQC raised patient safety concerns.
As a result the CQC has imposed conditions regarding the systems in place for patients who present with sepsis or other deteriorating medical conditions in its emergency departments at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.
Other conditions have been imposed in relation to the environmental safety of the emergency department at PRH.
The special meeting of Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin councillors next week will see Sath representatives present a report detailing the CQC’s findings, the resultant enforcement action, and Sath’s response and subsequent action plan.
They will also be asked if it will impact the trust’s business continuity plan and the sustainability of both accident and emergency departments.
Reassure
Simon Wright, Sath chief executive, has said the proposed changes to both hospitals as part of Future Fit will help.
He added: “Work on these areas had already begun before this notification and we will continue to work hard in these areas to reassure the CQC, and therefore our patients and staff, that these procedures are in place.”
At the meeting councillors will also receive a report on the scope and progress of current investigations, legal proceedings and any interim findings into Sath’s maternity services.
It comes after an independent review of baby deaths at the hospital trust dating back almost 20 years was ordered by then Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt MP in April 2017.
Earlier this week it was revealed by Health Secretary Matt Hancock that the troubled hospitals would be receiving a £3.19 million cash boost to help them through the winter period.
By Emily Lloyd, local democracy reporter