Trust expecting next inspection 'in 3-4 months'
Bosses and staff at Walsall Manor Hospital are expecting for their next CQC visit ‘in the next 3-4 months’, according to the chief executive of the Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust.
Chief executive Richard Kirby recently gave an update at a board meeting on how the trust is preparing for its next visit after being rated as inadequate in January 2016 and placed in special measures.
The trust, which runs the Manor Hospital, was placed into special measures after whistleblowers told the CQC that there is a 'heavy handed' approach from senior management which they said bordered on a bullying culture.
Key findings from the CQC report include claims that patient safety was compromised in the hospital's maternity ward, where concerns were raised over 'multiple issues with staffing, delivery of care and treatment'.
Mr Kirby has said the trust needs to 'get off to a flying start' with the next stage of its recovery.
He said: "As I reported last month, the next 3-4 months are vital to the delivery of our plans for 2017/18 and for getting off to a flying start with the next stage of our journey.
"The work we have done so far will ensure that we are able to deliver on our three key priorities – ensuring we continue to improve quality and safety so we are ready for the CQC inspection, delivering our financial plan for quarter one and making a step change towards our clinically-led engaged and empowered culture.
"The Executive Team have been working closely with divisional and care group leadership teams to ensure that we use the next 3-4 months properly.
"We are now expecting our CQC inspection within this period and the CQC have begun the process of working with us to collect the information that they will use to prepare for the inspection itself."
The trust's consistent failure to hit A&E waiting time targets was also a major issue in last years inspection, as the number of patients treated within the four hour national target fell below expectations for 'almost all of the period between April 2015 and May 2015'.
The report suggested that high workloads in the emergency department and maternity had resulted in care falling below the standards patients should be able to expect.
Another major issue related to staff satisfaction, with the CQC claiming that 'low morale and a heavy handed approach bordering on a bullying culture from senior management' had led staff across the organisation to not feel respected.
