Inspectors find improvements at Shropshire hospitals but 'inadequate' rating remains

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust has been rated as inadequate overall following each inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) since 2018.

A new CQC report, published today, shows the overall rating remains the same following the latest inspection, but inspectors found some progress which, they say – if sustained – would lay the foundations to considerably improving patient care.

The watchdog inspected the trust’s urgent and emergency care, medical care and end of life care at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital, Telford, in July and August.

Maternity services at PRH were also reviewed.

The trust was rated inadequate again for being safe and responsive to people’s needs and 'requires improvement' for being caring.

But it stepped up slightly to 'requires improvement' for being effective and well-led – categories previously rated 'inadequate'.

Inspectors said they recognised the 'enormous pressure' NHS services are under and noted that the trust continues to fall significantly short of offering good care overall.

But they also said it has 'benefited from more effective leadership that has helped drive improvements'.

However, there were several areas identified in the inspection where action and improvement are still needed.

Ted Baker, CQC chief inspector of hospitals, said: “While the trust continues to have significant work to do to provide care that meets standards people have a right to expect, it is providing more effective care overall.

“However, its risk management remains inconsistent and we are not assured it is doing all it can to ensure people’s safety.

“This is particularly concerning in urgent and emergency care at the RSH, where people did not always receive timely assessment to identify their needs, meaning staff were not aware whether people needed urgent treatment or not.

“The trust understands what it must do to improve, and we will continue to monitor its progress.

“There have been some areas of improvement, but work must happen at pace to build on this."

The CQC says the trust must address issues in its end of life care – which suffered from a shortage of staff with the right skills, and poor use of risk assessments to manage patients at risk of deterioration.

Improvement was seen in urgent and emergency care, particularly at PRH, however at RSH inspectors found people waited too long for initial assessment in unsuitable premises where infection prevention was not always well managed.

Inspectors also saw improvement in medical care at both sites, although assessment of maternity services at PRH found a shortage of midwives worsened the pressure it faced.

However, they recognised the 'dedicated' and 'caring approach' of its staff, despite being under considerable scrutiny.

Louise Barnett, chief executive at SaTH, which runs both PRH and RSH, said: “We welcome the CQC inspection report.

"The report identifies meaningful progress in the trust, but also shows that more work is required to improve the services we deliver for our communities, and we have plans in place to achieve this.

“In incredibly difficult circumstances, progress has been made in key areas and much has been done to improve the way we work and deliver care. The whole team here have shown enormous dedication and commitment and I want to thank them for their exceptionally hard work to bring about these positive changes.

“However, the report also reinforces the amount there is still to do on the trust’s improvement journey.

"We are determined to build on this progress and use this, and the report, as a stepping stone to provide excellent care across all our services for patients and families in our communities.”