Shropshire hospital boss: 'I'm sorry and disappointed'
The boss of Shropshire's two main hospitals has told the trust's board he is 'sorry and disappointed' that not enough progress has been made.
Chief executive of Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (Sath), Simon Wright, addressed board members and more than 40 members of the public during a meeting yesterday – just hours after a report was published branding services 'inadequate'.
Some people held up signs which read 'Sath bosses inadequate (It’s official)' and called for Future Fit to be ditched.
Yesterday it emerged Sath had been given an overall rating of 'inadequate' by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which inspected the trust in August and September.
The trust was placed into special measures earlier this month.
Addressing the meeting, Mr Wright said: "Nobody can be unaffected by this report.
"I certainly have been and I know board members have.
"I’m sorry and disappointed that we haven’t made the progress we would have expected to make at this point.”
He commended the staff at the trust, saying they work 'incredibly hard every day'.
Mr Wright said: "We are absolutely committed to making sure we can turn this corner and provide an organisation everyone can be proud of.”
Members of the public were given the chance to quiz health bosses about the CQC report during the meeting.
Gill George, chair of Shropshire Defend Our NHS, said the trust was in 'crisis' and made calls for Mr Wright to resign.
He refused, saying it would be too easy to walk away from a difficult job.
Mr Wright said: “It’s about digging deep and working hard to make sure we are making differences.”
When asked how long the trust was likely to remain in special measures, Mr Wright said there needed to be discussions about the improvement plan before he could answer that question.
Ben Reid, chair of the trust, said measures were being taken to strengthen the board.
He said changing the management at the trust would be counterproductive and too much change would get in the way of driving improvement.
Mr Reid said he was keen to engage with staff and 'bring them on board' with the improvements that need to be made.
It is expected an improvement plan will be brought to the board early next year.
The board also formally agreed to cease the planned overnight closure of A&E at Telford's Princess Royal Hospital during yesterday's meeting.
It comes after it was announced last week that a mixture of locum and agency middle grade doctors were now committed to rotas until the end of March.
Mr Wright said the trust would continue its efforts to take on permanent staff, adding: "We do not want to see this question resurrecting itself."
Mr Reid also thanked Shaun Davies, leader of Telford & Wrekin Council, for his efforts in trying to halt the night-time A&E closure plan.
Councillor Davies appealed to businesses to help with a project that would see doctors being offered free accommodation to encourage them to join the trust.
Yesterday, the CQC said staff were caring and dedicated, but stressed there is much work needed to ensure patients are kept safe.
The watchdog's chief inspector of hospitals, Professor Ted Baker, said concerns remained around A&E and maternity services in particular.
Leadership and the safety of services were both rated 'inadequate', while the CQC said the trust needs to make improvements in how effective and responsive its services are.
It was rated 'good' for whether services were caring.
The trust is now receiving extra support from NHS Improvement and the CQC said Sath was being closely monitored.
