Inspectors say major improvements needed at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust
The Care Quality Commission has told the trust to make improvements following inspections last year.
Major improvements are needed at some of Birmingham's biggest hospitals, after inspectors found patients were not always protected from harm.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has told University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust to make improvements following inspections it carried out at a number of sites last year.
The CQC said it visited the QE hospital, Good Hope and Heartlands after it received "concerning information" about some of the services being provided.
Inspectors found:
- People were not always protected from harm
- Not all staff had mandatory and safeguarding training
- Services did not manage medicine well
- The trust was not compliant with the Accessible Information Standard.
- People couldn't always access some services when they needed them or receive the right care promptly
- Staff did not always feel respected, supported or valued
- Leaders did not run services well and did not always manage risk effectively.
- Governance systems were not always effective
Following the inspections, the following services were rated:
- Urgent and Emergency care at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham - requires improvement
- Urgent and Emergency care at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital - requires improvement
- Urgent and Emergency care at Good Hope Hospital - requires improvement
- Neurosurgery at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham - requires improvement
- Cancer services at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham - requires improvement
The overall rating for University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust remains as requires improvement.
However, the inspection also found that staff provided emotional support to people, families and carers to minimise their distress and to understand their condition and make decisions about their care and treatment.
Labour MP for Edgbaston, Preet Gill, worked on the board last year and is set to meet the chief executive of UHB NHS Foundation trust, Jonathon Brotherton.
She said: "It's really troubling findings, I will absolutely raise this and we've got to make sure we hold the trust to account for the people of the West Midlands.
"There are huge amounts of recommendations that have been made in this report and what now need to happen is that the public needs to feel that they are going to get the best possible care."
Hospital statement
Jonathan Brotherton, Chief Executive Officer at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust said: “We fully acknowledge and recognise that we do not always get things right and there are areas where we need to improve.
"However, I am confident that since the CQC visited us last year, we have begun to take focussed and positive action by delivering a series of improvements and measures, to support making our organisation the best possible place to be treated and best possible place to work.
“Providing safe and excellent care to our patients is what is most important to us; we all want patients to be confident and assured that the care and treatment provided at our hospitals is safe and we want our colleagues to all feel proud of the quality of care that they are giving.
“I am heartened to hear that the inspectors noted how our teams treated patients with compassion and kindness, supporting them, their families, and carers to understand their condition and make decisions about their care and treatment. This clear demonstration of compassionate care is something that I would like to echo.
“We have much more to do and our focus for 2024/25 must be on moving forward, providing safe and effective care, focusing on our local hospitals and services through our newly devolved site-operating model, while building a values-led culture and supporting our 24,000 colleagues.”