‘Inadequate’ NHS trust has new conditions placed on registration after concerns
New conditions have been placed on an “inadequate” NHS trust’s registration after inspectors highlighted a number of concerns.
An inspection team from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) visited the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) in April.
The previous inspection of the trust in August last year sparked an enforcement notice which gave the CQC power to impose conditions on the trust, in connection with patient care.
The trust runs Shropshire’s two main hospitals, Telford’s Princess Royal and the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.
Concerns raised on the visit in April included children leaving the department without having received appropriate clinical assessment, too many people waiting too long to be seen by staff and insufficient protection for patients with mental health issues.
Inspectors also found that the trust’s monitoring of people suspected of having sepsis was “not always robust enough”, which had been identified in last year’s findings.
The latest conditions placed on the trust’s registration include requiring the trust to implement an effective system to assess all children presenting at its emergency departments within 15 minutes of arrival, as well as ensuring it has the right numbers and mix of staff on duty to undertake triage and escalate clinical risks in a timely way.
Chief inspector of hospitals Professor Ted Baker said: “We still have concerns about the emergency departments at the Princess Royal Hospital and Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.
“This is why we have imposed further urgent conditions on the trust’s registration to safeguard patients.
“The conditions require the trust to report to CQC weekly, detailing the action it is taking to improve and ensure the safety of patients using its emergency departments.
“We will continue to monitor the trust extremely closely, and continue to work with NHS England and NHS Improvement to secure the required improvements. We will return to check whether sufficient improvements have been made, and we will not hesitate to take further action if needed.”
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