THURROCK councillors on all sides have welcomed the news that a “vigorous inspection” is going to be held into Basildon Hospital.
Barbara Rice – portfolio holder for health and chair of Thurrock Shadow Health and Wellbeing board – and Wendy Curtis, who chairs the Health and Well-being Overview and Scrutiny Committee both say they are pleased by the move.
Cllr Rice said: “In the interest of users of Basildon Hospital I welcome this inspection, which follows the much-publicised Mid Staffs Hospital catastrophe where poor care, leadership and management led to unnecessary deaths.”
She said: “Basildon is one of five hospitals with the highest mortality rates in the country and the Care Quality Commission – who are the monitoring body for hospitals – have regularly reported unsatisfactory results from inspections there.
“These concerns have been addressed only to have others emerge. We have taken a tough line with the hospital with the chief executive and senior directors attending both the shadow board and the scrutiny committees to explain how improvement is going to be achieved.”
Cllr Rice added a “thorough root-and-branch” investigation would find out if the measures put in place by the new chief executive has “improved the situation to ensure our residents can expect the best possible care from its local hospital.”
Cllr Curtis said: “Hospital managers regularly come before us and tell us that things are getting better. Some years ago the hospital’s mortality rate was among the worst in the country, but we have been assured that situation has improved, in fact the hospital’s improvement rate is one of the best.
“I am really looking forward to see what the report says and I would hope to see that it confirms the hospital’s improvement line.”
Shadow health spokesperson has framed criticism and scrutiny of the hospital as that of a “critical friend.”
Cllr Shane Hebb told the Thurrock Gazette: “It is beyond comprehension that a multimillion-pound hospital failed to have fit-for-purpose control measures in place to combat the growth of legionella bacteria.
“I cannot believe it has only just had to admit liability after a decade long matter.
“We must now move forward in a new direction of working with the new hospital leadership team, evolving our relationship to that of a ‘critical friend’ to assist them managing their failures, while we do our bit to reduce hospitalisation rates by improving home assistance packages, policing the root causes of unplanned hospitalisations and ensuring primary care can meet its demands.”
Unfortunately this inspection is far too late for those who have died because of the lack of care shown to them, this hospital is continually in the news for one problem or the other but nobody is held accountable.
The mismanagement of this hospital has been going on for ages now and nothing has been done, indeed they are now looking to pull a vital service (blood tests) from the hospital and move it out of the county, how many delays & disasters will this cause.
The board of governors really need to take a long hard look at themselves for letting this once great hospital fall into such a disarray
It has just been anounced on the BBC news Thursday 7th Feb that Basildon is one of five with the worst death rates in the last TWO years not some years ago, Cllr Curtis please get the facts right.
2 years ago I recall that Conservative Councillors proposed that Thurrock Council should ask the Secretary of State for Health to instigate an investigation to establish whether or not Basildon Hospital was a safe place and was fit for purpose. The proposal was opposed by Labour Councillors who appeared to think that the Conservatives were over re-acting to criticism of the hospital and were “scaremongering”. Indeed one Labour Councillor chastised the Conservatives saying that by calling for an investigation there was a danger that the hospital would be closed and Thurrock would be without a major hospital thereby implying that she felt it was better to have a hospital that was unfit for purpose and was a danger to the health and well being of patients, staff and visitors than to have no hospital.
I believe that had the Labour Group treated the question of Basildon Hospital with the seriousness it merited in 2010 then perhaps the people of Thurrock would not be faced with the current crisis.
Conservatives proposed this 2 years ago
So why have they not proposed it again to Hunt or anybody in the Tory government
The Tory government have cut the NHS to pieces and it will get a lot worse
But what do they care about people
No matter what the representatives of this hospital claim to have done or are
doing to combat legionella we have to realise that it is all a big cover up!
How are we expected to believe a word they say after so many death’s and unnecessary illness.
How could the necessary precautions have been taken to prevent this disease when the system cleaning process was stopped to cut costs!!!
This meant anyone with a low immune system admitted to these wards would without a doubt contract legionella,ultimately sentencing them to death!
I have lost a loved one due to contracting legionella at this hospital and it was contracted through bathing in the jacuzzi baths on the ward.
Once doctors diagnosed it was legionnaires disease,caught from this ward,she was sent home and the ward was closed due to contamination.
Soon after she passed away .
Basildon hospital YOU have alot to answer for!