Probe ordered into East Lancashire A&E hospital services (From Burnley and Pendle Citizen)

Probe ordered into East Lancashire A&E hospital services

9:29am Thursday 30th April 2009 in News By Camilla Sutcliffe

Probe ordered into East Lancashire A&E hospital services

AN investigation into emergency hospital services has been ordered after concerns were raised that standards are not being met.

NHS East Lancashire chairman Kathy Reade said she was “very concerned” about patients’ experiences in the Royal Blackburn Hospital’s emergency department and urgent care centre, calling for directors to be allowed in to question patients and ward staff.

Fears have been raised that small problems on the wards “could lead to disaster” if they are not identified and dealt with.

The move follows difficulties that have been experienced since accident and emergency services were transfered from Burnley General to a centralised unit for the whole of East Lancashire in Blackburn.

Four members of the trust board have volunteered to visit the hospital to look for problems which could lead to breakdown in services similar to those experienced at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, where death rates soared in 2007.

A government report published last month said basic care standards had not been met there.

Death rates in East Lancashire have improved since the controversial move of all “blue light” emergency care to Blackburn, but Marie Burnham, chief executive of East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, has admitted that patients felt better cared for before the changes.

This month, the hospitals trust missed its annual govern-ment target for 98per cent of emergency patients to be treated within four hours.

The official figure is 96.66per cent over the last 12 months, but Collette Crothers, associate director of commissioning for NHS East Lancashire, said the rate for the Royal Blackburn Hospital’s services alone could be as low as 93per cent.

Mrs Reade told a meeting of the PCT board: “We need to send the message that we are so concerned about this we want to send in a small group, so that we know what patients think and what staff think, because they usually know what we should be doing.

“In Staffordshire, small but basic problems added up to disaster.

"This is so important we should be able to take action immediately.”

The board agreed to organise investigations, including visits to the department and requests to GPs for details of how their patients felt about emergency treatment.

Director of public affairs Victoria Robertson, director of health standards John Howarth, and non-executive directors Mary Thomas and Atefa Zaman all volunteered to be part of the team.

Kitty Ussher, Burnley MP, said any external scrutiny of the hospital was welcome.

She said: “I have received so many messages from people with concerns about emergency treatment at Blackburn.”

Burnley Council leader Gordon Birtwistle added: “They need to go there on a Friday night, and then they will see the good, the bad and the ugly.”

Ms Burnham said: “We fully recognise NHS East Lancash-ire’s role in monitoring our performance.

“In terms of maintaining performance against the max-imum four-hour wait target in our emergency department and urgent care centres, we continue to work closely with both our PCTs on making sure we all play our part in delivering against the agreed action plan.”