To receive an update from Trust officers on how the Trust is responding to a recent report on its services by the Care Quality Commission.
Minutes:
The Committee received the Barts Health response to the CQC Report. The inspection was carried out in November 2014 and the subsequent report was published on 14 January 2014.
In general, there was much to be proud of as staff were commended for providing safe compassionate care in clean surroundings. Management structures around the Clinical Academic Groups and their abilities to implement change were also positively highlighted.
Since the last CQC inspection, broken equipment had been replaced and improvements made to the complaints handling process, leadership development, risk management/governance and organisational culture. The issues around bullying and harassment were also being addressed.
The Committee were asked to refer to the detailed action plans accompanying the presentation.
It was noted that there would be one high level plan covering Trust-wide actions and five site-specific plans covering actions at individual hospitals Trust-wide which included:
• Ensuring staffing levels meet patients’ needs in medical and surgical wards
• Ensuring risk registers are managed effectively
• Improving staff morale, staff engagement and visible leadership
• Ensuring equipment is readily available when needed
• Ensuring learning from incidents and near miss events is shared with all staff
• Providing 24/7 consultant cover
The plans had now been agreed by the CQC, the Trust Development Authority (TDA) and the Board.
In addressing staff morale and engagement, Barts Health had undertaken a recruitment drive to achieve 95% permanent staffing levels by September 2014 thus reducing the need for temporary staff. In addition, an on-call Executive Director would be visiting the wards at weekends to obtain staff and patient feedback. An anonymous online system had been provided where staff could contact members of the Trust Board direct. Plans were also in hand to make necessary changes in the overall organisational culture.
To improve standards, the following actions had been put in place:
• Developing monthly reporting of actual staffing levels by shift and ward/department
• Introducing a new Trust wide e-rostering system to manage shifts, to include a patient acuity indicator to help plan staffing levels
• Rolling out leadership and skills programme based on the programme we ran last year across older people’s services
• Developing stronger links between risk registers and the capital programme to target equipment replacement more effectively
• Multi-disciplinary working with commissioners and partners to develop new patient pathways to support more effective discharge planning
• Refurbishment work already undertaken in the Margaret Centre at Whipps Cross Hospital
• Working with Healthwatch, local patients and staff on a new PALS and complaints model
The Chairman remarked on the work that PALS carry out in trying to resolve issues immediately and that they are not a large resource.
A Committee member was pleased to note that there was an action plan for all Barts Health sites and requested sight of the action plan for Whipps Cross following concerns about maternity and obstetrics. The Barts Health representative agreed to the member’s request that the Redbridge Overview and Scrutiny Committee be invited to visit Whipps Cross and would provide details and dates.
The Chairman thanked the Barts Health representatives for a most informative report.
In reference to the JOSC visit to Whipps Cross, both visits were enjoyable and the Committee was impressed by the full walkarounds and to see the improvements made in maternity and emergency care. The CQC report had highlighted 9 areas for improvement. The member for Redbridge requested that factual evidence be provided in the next presentation from Whips Cross so as to reassure him that the western side of Redbridge was being cared for.
The Committee requested that all reports provide more statistical data/evidence. It was agreed to forward Whipps Cross statistical information to the Committee Clerk.