Shropshire hospitals improvement plan 'progressing very well' says boss
The trust running Shropshire's two main hospitals has identified 'root-cause' issues following its 'inadequate' rating by health inspectors and is 'progressing really well', bosses say.
Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) was placed into special measures last year and received the lowest overall rating from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
It has now developed a quality improvement plan to address the findings of the CQC's inspection.
Chief executive of the trust, Simon Wright, said it was 'progressing really well' and had been engaging with staff, talking about the 'root causes' of issues so they can be addressed.
He said moving out of special measures would never be easy but the trust was on target for its trajectory for improvement.
Mr Wright said: "We want to make sure our hospitals are safe and the actions we are taking are really addressing the causes of those problems.
"We are building something that is going to be solid. That will take a little time."
He said the trust was focussing on its quality of care.
Steering groups
The trust board will hear about the improvement plan during a meeting on Thursday.
The report says SaTH 'is now in a position to formally conclude the plan development phase and move fully into the delivery phase'.
It says five steering groups will also be responsible for the development and oversight of delivery of the improvement plans to address each issue.
The groups will monitor women and children's services, scheduled care, unscheduled care, workforce and leadership and each will be chaired by an accountable executive.
The report says: "Through the unpacking process 264 root causes have been identified relating to the original 79 Must Do findings.
"The vast majority of Must Do findings have multiple root causes that need to be addressed to fully resolve the headline finding to deliver sustainable improvement.
"Action plans have been developed and resolution dates set in respect of each of the root causes.
"The quality improvement plan delivery trajectory sees over half the root causes being resolved by the end of June and more than 80 per cent completion by the end of September 2019."
Leadership and the safety of services were both rated 'inadequate' by the CQC last year, while the watchdog said the trust needs to make improvements in how effective and responsive its services are.
It was rated 'good' for whether services were caring.
