|
Report to: |
East Sussex Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HOSC)
|
|
|
Date of meeting:
|
7 March 2024 |
|
|
By: |
Assistant Chief Executive
|
|
|
Title: |
University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust (UHSx) Care Quality Commission (CQC) Report
|
|
|
Purpose: |
|
RECOMMENDATIONS
The Committee is recommended to:
1) consider and comment on the report; and
2) consider whether to request a further report on any of the areas covered in the report.
1. Background
1.1. University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust (UHSx) provides acute care service to people in Brighton & Hove, parts of East Sussex and West Sussex. The Trust operates seven hospitals across Brighton & Hove and West Sussex, and the Royal Sussex County Hospital (RSCH) in Brighton is the regional major trauma centre, where a number of the most critically ill and injured residents of East Sussex are likely to be treated.
1.2. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected UHSx in October 2022, where the Trust was given an overall rating of ‘Requires Improvement’, with an ‘Inadequate’ rating in the ‘Well-Led’ domain. Additionally, the RSCH was given an overall rating of ‘Inadequate’, including specific ‘Inadequate’ ratings in the safe and well-led domains.
1.3. The CQC reinspected four of UHSx’s hospitals (including RSCH) in August 2023 looking at Surgery and Medicine and published the reports in February 2024. The RSCH report showed an improvement, with the overall rating upgraded to ‘Requires Improvement’. The safe and well-led domains were also rated as ‘Requires Improvement’. UHSx are currently preparing a formal response to present to the CQC on 4 April 2024.
1.4. Separate to the findings and reports of the CQC, Sussex Police are looking into possible cases of medical negligence – primarily connected to general surgery and neurosurgery at RSCH – between 2015 and 2021. UHSx are supportive of this action and are helping officers in their investigation, but the Trust is not directly involved in their work and is unable to directly discuss their inquiry.
2. Supporting information
2.1. UHSx has produced a presentation for HOSC attached as Appendix 1. The presentation covers:
· Hospital pressures and progress being against these
· RSCH performance
· Overview of CQC reports, actions taken since the May 2023 report and the Trust’s Quality and Safety Improvement Programme (QSIP)
· Challenges for the Trust
· Capital investments
2.2 The full report for RSCH is on the available on the CQC’s website at: https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/E0A3H/reports
3 Conclusion and reasons for recommendations
3.1 HOSC is recommended to consider the report and decide whether future updates are needed on any of the areas covered in the report.
PHILIP BAKER
Assistant Chief Executive
Contact Officer:
Patrick Major, Scrutiny and Policy Support Officer
Tel. No. 01273 335133
Email: patrick.major@eastsussex.gov.uk