Health Safety Call

James Brokenshire has called on hospital managers at South London Healthcare NHS Hospitals Trust (SLHT) to conduct an urgent review of patient safety standards and to put an immediate halt on re-organisation plans after a damning report by the independent health monitoring organisation Dr Foster. SLHT was one of just 12 acute trusts described by Doctor Foster as "significantly underperforming" on basic safety measures.

In its 2009 hospital guide, "How Safe is My Hospital?" Dr Foster assessed all NHS acute trusts across a range of safety indicators and assigned a banding and score based on their performance. The best rated hospital according to the guide - University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - received a score of 100. By contrast SLHT which runs Queen Mary's Hospital Sidcup, Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Greenwich and the Princess Royal University Hospital in Bromley was given a score of just 4.79 - joint sixth lowest in the country.

Dr Foster's report highlighted that SLHT was unable to provide figures on accidents in which ‘foreign objects' are left behind in people's bodies after surgery, or where patients receive an operation on the wrong part of the body, despite claiming to have systems to record such serious incidents. The trust was also unable to provide figures on the number of operations cancelled at its hospitals.

Commenting James Brokenshire said:

"The Dr Foster Guide paints a deeply worrying picture on the standards, systems and governance in operation within the trust. Patients will want urgent reassurance in the light of this report as to the quality of care provided at local hospitals and the trust board needs to take a long hard look at these criticisms rather than sweeping them under the carpet. Against this backdrop I find it virtually inconceivable that the trust should press ahead with implementing its hospital reorganisation plans which seem certain to put even greater strain on the local health service."

Mr Brokenshire is writing to George Jenkins, the Chairman of SLHT, highlighting his concerns and asking Mr Jenkins to confirm what steps will be taken in conjunction with the other non-executive members of the Trust Board to assess governance procedures. Mr Brokenshire is also contacting the Care Quality Commission to ask them to investigate safety standards at the Trust.

A copy of the Dr Foster 2009 hospital guide "How Safe is My Hospital" can be downloaded from: http://www.drfosterhealth.co.uk/docs/hospital-guide-2009.pdf

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