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Chief Inspector of Hospitals describes NHS as standing on a “burning platform” (14 March 2017)

Date: 14/03/2017
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, Chief Inspector of Hospitals describes NHS as standing on a “burning platform”

Chief Inspector of Hospitals Professor Sir Mike Richards has warned that safety is not good enough at four out of five hospital trusts in England. He described the NHS as standing on a “burning platform” following a review carried out by The Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The review highlighted staffing and overcrowding as major concerns, and showed that unprecedented pressures on hospitals may be putting patients at risk. Some of these problems were identified as being beyond the hospitals’ control due to rising demand being placed on them.

The CQC reviewed all 136 hospital trusts in the country, finding that 11% were rated inadequate on safety and that 70% required improvement. The problems highlighted included:

  • Bed occupancy rates being above recommended levels
  • Long waits for operations
  • Problems with medication management and maintenance of medical equipment
  • Tests being delayed as the result of poor information-sharing and record-keeping
  • Shortages of nurses in medical and elderly care wards, midwives in maternity units and doctors in A&E
  • Poor care being given to patients with sepsis, kidney injuries and other life-threatening conditions
  • Agency workers staffing temporary escalation wards during busy periods despite being unfamiliar with the hospital practices
  • Poor control of infections due to insufficient hand hygiene and failure to properly isolate patients with infections

  • While Professor Sir Mike Richards has expressed some sympathy for hospitals, given the increased demand and economic pressures place on them, he said that safety remains a “real concern” and hospital trusts have to learn from their mistakes.

    Rebecca Thomas, Director of Clinical Negligence at Duncan Lewis comments:

    “It is no secret that the NHS is struggling to cope with the increasing demands that it is facing. This Report from the CQC is nevertheless cause for concern particularly as safety has been singled out as a real cause for concern with some NHS Trusts apparently failing to learn when things go wrong. In my experience, the majority of Trusts do take steps to ensure that they learn from mistakes and this reduces the likelihood of these errors being repeated."

    Rebecca Thomas is a Director of Clinical Negligence at Duncan Lewis. Rebecca has over 20 years’ experience in her field and represents clients in a wide range of cases including claims involving cosmetic and dental negligence, surgical and orthopaedic injuries arising from delay, misdiagnosis or negligent spinal surgery, gastrointestinal and ophthalmic surgery.

    Duncan Lewis Clinical Negligence Department

    The Duncan Lewis Clinical Negligence team has significant experience acting in a vast array of claims. Varying from accident and emergency failures to GP negligence claims, to misdiagnosed fractures to wrongful death matters claims. They also act for children and adults who have suffered profound and permanent brain, spinal or neurological injuries and associated disabilities as a consequence of failings in medical care in both NHS and private hospitals. If you have any queries relating to Clinical Negligence or think that you may have a claim, please do not hesitate to contact our team of expert solicitors on 03337720409.

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