Care Quality Commission launches investigation into Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust

29 June 2011

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has launched a full investigation into the care provided by Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust.

This investigation will review the care that patients receive from the trust across emergency care, elective care and maternity services. It follows demands for improvement by the regulator in response to serious concerns about patient care.

CQC will now look in detail at whether the trust is protecting people against the risk of unsafe care, including whether it has the right systems in place to:

• ensure that there are enough suitably qualified, skilled and experienced staff at all times.
• identify, assess and manage risk.
• ensure that lessons are learned from incidents that resulted in harm to people, or had the potential to do so.

The investigation will involve speaking to patients, relatives and frontline staff and observing the care delivered by the trust. It will also involve gathering evidence through examination of records and requesting written statements, as well as looking at the role of commissioning bodies.

In April 2010, CQC put eight conditions on Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust’s registration, owing to concerns about the trust’s performance. Since then, CQC inspectors have made unannounced visits to the trust resulting in urgent demands for improvement and have carried out reviews into the maternity and A&E services.

The review of A& E services, which will be published in July, found that problems with how the department is organised are affecting care, resulting in delays to patients being seen and treated.

The review of maternity services, published in April, found that the trust was failing to meet six essential standards, with two areas – staffing, and care and welfare of people – a major cause for concern. At this time, staff told inspectors that patient care was being compromised by staffing issues, and CQC warned the trust that this must be addressed as a matter of urgency.

Some improvements have been made – but not enough to assure the regulator that the trust is doing everything necessary to ensure safe care for patients. CQC is also concerned about the challenges the trust continues to face and its capability to successfully address these. This investigation is an opportunity to take a broader look at those challenges, and to make recommendations for the future.

Colin Hough, CQC’s regional director for London said: “We’ve been monitoring this trust very closely, making frequent unannounced visits, talking to patients and staff – and we keep finding problems. Some progress has been made, but not enough. We’re concerned both about the trust’s performance and its ability to deliver the scale of the improvements needed.

“CQC has now launched a full investigation into whether Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust has the right systems in place to protect people and make sure they receive safe care. We’ll also be looking at the bigger picture – whether the trust has the support it needs to make improvements.

“We warned the trust that we would take action if we were not confident that all necessary steps were taken to ensure people receive safe care. This investigation will now determine what action is needed.”

Once the investigation is complete, the findings will be published. If the investigation identifies further serious concerns about the trust’s ability to meet essential standards of quality and safety on a sustainable basis, CQC will not hesitate to take enforcement action. CQC may also take enforcement action at any time during the investigation if there is evidence of major concerns and risks to people.

An investigation under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 gives CQC the option to look at the provision of health care across a local system. This includes reviewing the role and function of the primary care trust (PCT) and the strategic health authority (SHA) and their capacity to performance manage and support the trust in making and sustaining the necessary improvements.

Ends

For media enquiries, please contact the CQC press office on 0207 448 9239 or out of hours on 07917 232 143.

Notes to editors