Major acute trust to be rated inadequate

It has been widely known that serious concerns were raised during an inspection of Pennine Acute Hospital Trust earlier this year, particularly around emergency services and staffing shortages in key areas.

Several senior sources have told HSJ the trust has been given an overall inadequate rating. The CQC’s report is expected to be published on Friday.

Following the inspection in March, Sir David Dalton of Salford Royal Foundation Trust took over as the trust’s chief executive on an interim basis, with both trusts now preparing to launch a new “provider chain” model.

Other concerns about the trust were around risk management, as well as a lack of leadership on each of the four hospital sites it runs, HSJ has been told.