Overwhelmed NHS trust’s A&E and maternity units “unsafe”
Posted: January 30, 2016
Posted in: Birth Injury Medical Negligence Wrongful & Accidental Death
Services at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust have been deemed “unsafe” by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and an inspector has recommended that the hospital should be placed into special measures. It was found that there was a lack of staff in maternity and A&E and reported that nine babies had died in the womb in one year. Inspectors also found that patients attending A&E were not always being adequately triage scored, and that timely treatment was not always forthcoming.
23% rise in emergency admissions
In its report, the CQC pointed out that some of the hospital’s problems could be traced back to the dissolving of the former Mid-Staffordshire Foundation Trust in 2012. Walsall Manor Hospital experienced a rise in emergency admissions of 23% between 2012-13 and 2014-15, and the report stated that there were insufficient staffing levels in A&E, maternity and medical services to cope with the increase.
Professor Sir Mike Richards, Chief Inspector of Hospitals for the CQC wrote in his report that six high-risk inductions of labour had been delayed in one day which is deemed to be unacceptable. It was also reported that a woman who needed a caesarean section within 30 minutes, had to wait 91 minutes to have the procedure. Another woman waited 90 minutes to have stitches after giving birth, which increased the risk of infection.
A decision will be made by the NHS Trust Development Authority will decide on whether the trust will be placed in special measures.
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