Essex hospital criticised for clinical negligence risks

Posted 27/11/2009

The NHS trust responsible for a medical facility in Essex has been censured for low healthcare and hygiene standards which could be causing a medical negligence risk.

Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been warned by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) that it could lose its registration if it does not improve upon dangerously poor conditions at Basildon University Hospital.

This comes after ongoing inspections of the facility revealed multiple breaches of infection control standards, as well as a lack of paediatric staff and a substandard care environment.

It is feared that such problems have contributed to high mortality rates for emergency admissions.

As a result, CQC chief executive Cynthia Bower said that its confidence in the trust had been diminished, adding that improvements must now be made.

She stated: “We want to ensure the trust takes swift and positive action to prevent poor quality care.”

Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp, a clinical negligence specialist at Ashtons Legal, said: “For those of us who have had dealings with this trust over many years the findings may not come as a surprise.

“What the independent results do show is that self-regulation is not satisfactory and that external scrutiny is necessary to maintain and drive up standards.”

“This is not to detract from the excellent provision of health care in many trusts throughout the UK.”

Last month, the regulator called for improvements to the quality of out-of-hours medical care after a clinical negligence case in Cambridgeshire led to the death of a patient.