James Paget receives another CQC warning

An inspection last month found that improvements were needed in relation to the care and welfare of people who used the services.

The full report has still to be released but the CQC has highlighted that some assessments and medical and nursing records were not up to date and care plans did not always reflect the individual needs of patients.

It also said records of ‘do not resuscitate’ orders and orders relating to cardiopulmonary resuscitation were not always fully completed.

Andrea Gordon, deputy director of operations (regions) for the CQC, said: “We will be returning to the trust to follow up on progress and, when we do, we will expect the trust to be able to demonstrate it has made improvements.

“James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust needs to address these issues or face serious consequences.”

The trust has had a series of adverse reports from the CQC, including some warning notices last year around assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision and meeting nutritional needs. It has since complied with these notices.

But it has also had considerable changes at board level with both the chair and the chief executive leaving.  Interim chief executive David Hill came into post a week ago and the trust is looking for a permanent chair.

Mr Hill said: “The James Paget fully accepts that the necessary pace of improvement here has not been fast enough and we should have responded more quickly.

“The board, under the interim chairmanship of Peter Franzen, has made it clear that a turnaround in this situation is required including significant changes at management level. Those changes or actions will be swiftly implemented.”

The trust said it had already taken action including improving communication with nursing and medical staff, standardising documentation and reviewing ‘do not resuscitate’ notices, as well as ongoing audits of services.