FOLLOWING the review of Mid Staffordshire hospital, there is to be a thorough review of the high mortality rates which have prevailed at Basildon. The review will be undertaken by the NHS Medical Director Sir Bruce Keogh. Basildon is one of fourteen hospitals which will be examined due to their unusually high death rates.
Thurrock MP Jackie Doyle-Price has welcomed the review and is encouraging bereaved families and hospital staff to make representations and provide evidence for the review. She said,
“I am pleased that this review is taking place. Patients and regulators have consistently reported care which falls below standard and it is only by a thorough review that we will get to the bottom of what needs to change to make things better so that all patients at Basildon get the care they deserve.”
Conservative health spokesman Cllr Shane Hebb added “The Keogh review, specifically the review of mortality rates at Basildon, is more than a temperature check. The findings of the report, which will combine not only professional observation but public experience, will help us understand if the hospital is going in the right direction at a fast enough pace.
There is no doubt that such a radical overhaul of an inefficient hospital will not happen overnight – there is much to be done, and expectations have to be realistic. The new management regime has been in place for six months and are open about the challenges in front of them. It is my hope, along with residents, that Sir Bruce Keogh reports back on a hospital which is self-aware, focussing on improvement and getting results.
“If the feedback is positive we know things are getting better.”
The Care Quality Commission is pulling together material for the review and would welcome the opportunity to review the experience of patients and their families.
If anyone wishes to share their story they can either do so through me or directly to the Care Quality Commission by telephone on 03000 616161; by email at enquiries@cqc.org.uk; or in writing to CQC National Customer Service Centre, Citygate, Gallowgate, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4PA.
Comments about Basildon and Thurrock University Hospital can also be made directly and anonymously via the CQC website.
