NHS MISSES CARE TARGETS
Hospitals are still failing their “annual health check” according to Graeme Swain a specialist clinical negligence and health lawyer at Swain & Co solicitors in Havant.
Graeme Swain said, “Almost half of hospitals are still not meeting the core standards of care required of them according to the health regulators annual report produced by the Care Quality Commission. The report came out on Thursday.
The Commission expressed concerns about hospitals being rated “fair” for far too long without improving and referred to 20 Trusts rated “weak” on quality, some rated “weak” over a number of years”.
The aim of the Commission is to make sure better care is provided for everyone.
Graeme Swain said, “Hospital services are rated as excellent, good, fair or weak. Overall in the South East 15% of services are rated as weak and 23% as fair. In the North East, for example, 50% of services are rated as excellent and 50% as good.
Services which are rated overall as weak are in South East England, the South West, London and the West Midlands. If there is a North-South divide the conclusion must be that hospital services are better in the North if you look at where the services are which are described as weak.”
The report of the Commission is an annual assessment of equality of care and financial management of NHS organisations. The comprehensive report covered 392 organisations including hospital, primary care, mental health and ambulance Trusts.
Graeme Swain said, “It is worrying that despite massive financial investment in patient care, many Trusts are still failing the basic requirements of good care. If there are cutbacks due to the recession and less is spent on the NHS the aim must still be to improve patient care standards.
I have always felt that there should be a strict requirement on doctors to admit their mistakes. I believe that this would improve patient care as it would spur Trusts on to make changes”. Earlier this year Graeme Swain and members of his team lobbied the British Medical Association to press for it to become a strict requirement that doctors admit their mistakes.
Graeme Swain also said, “The report highlights the need for more to be done on infection control on the basis that 48 acute Trusts did not meet at least one of the three relevant standards. This is worse than the previous year and is a major worry”.
Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth achieved a rating of excellent for the quality of its services. The quality of its financial management is described as fair whereas in previous years it has been rated as good.
Patients rated the organisation as “satisfactory” in terms of their overall experience.
Graeme Swain said, “I imagine that the Hospital Trusts will all try to emphasise the good elements within the Commission’s Report and obviously credit should be given where it is due. However, across the NHS the report highlights issues where progress is not being made. For example, the core standard on child safeguarding is down, more needs to be done on infection control, some Trusts are not reaching the required level of performance on specialist stroke care and the number of cancelled operations is up and is now running at 63,000.
The Commission’s annual report will stand as a challenge to all Trusts to seek to improve year on year.
Press Release issued by Swain & Co solicitors on Friday 16 October 2009.
Attached is a photograph of Graeme Swain and members of his team lobbying for change at the BMA annual conference earlier this year.
For further information contact:
Graeme Swain on 02392 483322 or by email at graemeswain@swaincohavant.uk.com