Fifteen trusts don’t meet new care standards

Ten NHS trusts, four mental health trusts and an ambulance trust are not meeting the tough new standards of care that have been set by the Care Quality Commission, it was revealed as the CQC announced plans to give 214 more NHS trusts a licence to operate.

The CQC said the NHS trusts would only get the licence if they could prove they were doing more to address concerns about the safety and quality of the care they offer, including basic patient care. The 10 trusts are Devon Partnership NHS Trust, Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust, Luton and Dunstable Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust, Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Healthcare NHS Trust, Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, West London Mental Health NHS Trust, Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

The CQC also announced that four out of 57 mental health trusts will be registered with conditions, including making sure that people detained under the Mental Health Act are treated in accordance with their rights. Other conditions relate to staff not being properly trained and supported; buildings not being maintained and care not being planned to suit people’s needs.

One of 11 ambulance trusts is also to be registered with conditions. Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust must meet government targets on response times, the CQC said, pointing out that while response times were a problem at other ambulance trusts, it was concerned that this trust’s action plan would not deliver the improvements needed within the original timeframe.

CQC chair Dame Jo Williams said: “We have set out the action we expect and now it is the responsibility of trusts to ensure improvements are made. These are essential standards that every patient has the right to expect in any NHS service. In some cases, our concerns go right to the heart of basic patient care and whether patients’ rights are being respected. This is particularly the case with people detained under the Mental Health Act. It is not acceptable that people are not treated in accordance with their rights.”

She added: “In other trusts, we are asking them to get better systems in place to monitor services, so they know where risks lie and can take action to minimise them. These are the things patients don’t necessarily see but they can have a significant impact on their care.”