Insufficient: safety issues highlighted, Shropshire hospital confidence is considered lowest

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital (Sath) NHS Trust, which operates Telford's Royal Shrewsbury and Princess Royal hospitals, was previously considered "needs improvement" by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), but its overall rating has now fallen to lower.

CQC said the staff was caring and dedicated, but stressed that a lot of work was needed to ensure patient safety.

Professor Ted Baker, Chief Inspector of Hospitals to Supervisory Authorities, said concern remained over air medicine and maternity services within the trust.

Service leadership and safety were both rated as "inadequate," while CQC said that trust should improve the efficiency and responsiveness of its services.

He was judged "good" to know if the services were attentive.

The inspectors stated that in times of severe operational pressures, PRH patients were not always assessed and treated in a safe and appropriate environment.

The medical and nursing staffs were not able to keep patients using the emergency and emergency services of the hospital safe, the report says.

In maternity services, problems were reported regarding staff training, equipment and inspectors noted that "high-risk" women in the course of work were not always examined regularly and by the appropriate staff member.

Inspectors stated that PRH and HSR services did not always properly manage patient safety incidents.

The report continues: "The deteriorating patient has not always been recognized in emergency and emergency care services to ensure appropriate and timely care.

"Not all services had a sufficient number of permanent employees with the necessary qualifications, training and experience to protect people from preventable harm and abuse."

Shortage of midwives

The inspectors said that there was a shortage of midwives and that during the inspection, the environment of the unit led by Shrewsbury Midwife was "unfit for his mission".

The report indicated that the temporary environment was narrow and posed a risk of fire and infection control.

Staff also reported a culture of bullying and harassment and sometimes feared to raise concerns or problems.

According to the inspectors, not all managers have the skills and competencies to manage a service that provides high quality sustainable care.

Other areas inspected included critical care, surgery, end-of-life care, outpatient care, medical care and services for children and youth.

The inspectors said they found examples of outstanding practices in end-of-life care services at both sites, maternity at PRH and critical care at RSH.

The CQC has stated confidence that it should act in a number of areas, including ensuring that sufficient, properly qualified and trained staff are available to care for and protect people from harm. risk of harm.

Confidence was asked to review and improve midwifery staffing levels, revise its policy on reducing fetal movement, and improve the rates of midwifery staffing. 39, administration of antibiotics in the hour following the identification of patients suspected of sepsis.

Closely watched

Mr. Baker said today that trust is closely monitored by CQC.

He said: "Although we have found the staff caring and dedicated, the trust clearly has a long way to go to ensure that care is provided in a way that ensures the safety of people.

"We remain particularly concerned about the emergency department and maternity services in Sath.

"We have already taken urgent measures to protect people and monitor the relationship very closely.

"We will continue to work with NHS Improvement on trust. This trust must take steps to ensure that all necessary improvements are made to give patients the level of safe care they should be able to expect. We will come back to check on the progress made with these improvements. "

Dr. Kathy McLean, Medical Director and Chief Operating Officer of NHS Improvement, said the trust was facing "significant problems" but was receiving support to improve its services.

The inspection was carried out in August and September.