Norfolk & Norwich Hospital placed in special measures by CQC

The Norfolk and Norwich Hospital has today been placed into special measures following the latest CQC report.

Whilst the CQC praised staff members, it appeared more than unimpressed that, despite a warning in the previous report in April 2017, the hospital had not appropriately addressed concerns about leadership, systems and processes.

Worryingly, the CQC repeated concerns that a bullying culture was in place at the hospital. This is despite the resignation of former CEO Anna Dugdale when these exact concerns were raised a number of years ago.

In addition, the CQC felt that the Trust was inadequate for their services being safe and felt that the hospital was now being run more poorly than it was at the time of the previous inspection last year.

Ben Ward, Associate in the Medical Negligence team at Ashtons Legal, notes the concerns that many patients will have given today’s news.

He comments: “It is fundamental to reflective learning and improvement of patient safety that all employees are able to raise concerns about patient well-being in a safe environment without fear of reprisal. Without those safety nets, employees will not feel comfortable in raising issue such as systemic failures. These failures then fail to be adequately addressed resulting in patients’ lives being placed at risk. This is not an issue that is only just coming to light within the Trust. Rather, it is an on-going unresolved issue that senior management appear incapable of getting hold of and dealing with. The longer it continues, the longer patient safety is at risk”.