The Chief Inspector of Hospitals has said that he has seen significant patient improvements in ten out of the 11 Trusts since they were placed into special measures.
The conclusions are set out in a report from the Care Quality Commission, Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority (NHS TDA), which summarises the progress made by the first Trusts placed into the new special measures regime in July 2013.
The factors for success are said to be the strength of leadership within the Trusts, acceptance by Trusts of the scale of the challenges they faced, alignment between managers and clinicians and the willingness to accept external support.
Professor Richards emphasised that the Trusts that took ownership and early action saw the most improvements.
The report highlights the work by Monitor and the NHS TDA to support the 11 Trusts. This included providing partnerships with Trusts which are performing well in the areas the special measures Trust has issues and appointing an improvement director to ensure action plans were adhered to.
Practical measures that led to significant changes at some of the Trusts are said to include the recruitment of extra staff, better systems to manage the way patients are moved throughout their stay from admission to discharge (patient flow), better management of those patients with life threatening conditions and having a renewed emphasis on the quality of care provided.
Professor Sir Mike Richards said: “The evidence in the report shows that the special measures process has brought improvements in the quality of care in most cases, which would have been unlikely without the regime.”
He continued: “Although there have been improvements, it is important to emphasise that further improvements need to be made, especially in relation to safety and responsiveness. The special measures process is doing what it set out to do, and I am confident that it will lead to further improvements.”
