Monitor investigates Royal Berkshire over A&E breaches

The trust has breached the national quarterly target three times in under two years.

Monitor said today it was concerned that persistent failure to meet the accident and emergency target could signal wider governance problems at the trust.

The regulator has therefore opened a formal investigation into whether the Trust has breached the conditions of its licence to provide healthcare services.

Paul Streat, regional director at Monitor, said: “Patients rightly expect the highest possible standards of care, that’s why we have launched this investigation. We want to make sure that the trust has not breached the terms of its licence.”

The intervention comes a few weeks after Monitor put Royal Berkshire’s neighbour, Heatherwood and Wexham Park Foundation Trust, on a three-month improvement notice for performance breaches including in A&E.