Northern Devon Healthcare Trust respond to serious concerns raised in CQC report
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Following a series of serious incidents at the Ladywell Maternity Unit, the CQC carried out an unannounced inspection in October 2017 of the Northern Devon Healthcare Trust.
The full report of this inspection has now been published and the Trust has responded to the key findings.
The Report IDentifies “serious concerns” about Northern Devon Healthcare Trust
Overall the report raises ‘serious concerns’ following the ‘disappointing’ inspection and the Trust is rated overall as ‘requires improvement’. The ratings appear below:
Professor Ted Baker, England’s Chief Inspector of Hospitals, is reported to have instructed the Trust that it must make significant improvements in the quality and safety of its’ services to prevent ‘avoidable harm’. He made clear, however, that his comments did not detract from his observation that staff working at the hospital are ‘caring and conscientious’.
The report also highlighted particular issues with the A&E, ophthalmology and maternity services.
The Trust’s response
The Trust has responded by thanking the CQC for their recommendations and has confirmed that following the October inspection many of the recommended improvements have been implemented and an action plan is in place for the remaining areas of concern.
Darryn Allcorn, director of nursing, quality and workforce at the Trust added that the Trust looks forward to welcoming the CQC back in due course when they will see that the Trust has taken forward their recommendations to improve their services:
“In maternity we found that staff were not always following best practice, resulting in cases where a baby had come to harm. The relationship between the midwives and the consultants was poor, adding an unnecessary risk to the safety of their patients.
“We will continue to monitor the services involved, and we will take further action if that is required to protect the interests of patients. We will in any case return in the near future to check progress.”
Enable Law settled a multi-million pound lawsuit against Northern Devon Healthcare Trust
Dan Isaac andLaurence Vick of Enable Law have recently commented on the £20 million damages award following a birth injury at North Devon District Hospitals maternity unit.
In an earlier article, Enable Law commented on concerns over the Ladywell Maternity Unit at the hospital.
If you have any concerns about the treatment you or a family member have received then please get in touch to speak to one of our experts in confidence.
