Unions have reacted to a damning report in which inspectors ruled that Salford Royal and three other hospitals in Greater Manchester 'require improvement'. The Northern Care Alliance (NCA) was slammed in its first ever inspection since it started running hospitals in Bury, Salford, Oldham and Rochdale.
Emergency departments were deemed 'overcrowded' with patients cared for on corridors and not enough suitably qualified staff around to keep them safe. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said that staff work 'incredibly hard under pressure', but nurses often felt 'unsafe' on wards due to workforce shortages.
But staff said they did not always feel respected, supported or valued and some expressed reservations about raising concerns, while others did not always feel listened to, according to the CQC's head of hospital inspections. The NCA chiefs have thanked staff for their ongoing care and commitment at a time of 'unprecedented' demand, but said they accept the CQC's judgement.
It comes just over a year after the new trust was formed, following Salford Royal's legal acquisition of the Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. UNISON regional organiser Amy Barringer said the public sector union is 'disappointed' that Salford Royal has been downgraded from outstanding.
She said: "We hope the NCA takes on board the report’s concerns about the culture at the trust. Staff voices should never be side-lined and UNISON is happy to work with the trust to make sure our members are listened to.
"As we see across the NHS, vacancy levels at NCA are high. It is up to the government to fix this by listening to the unions and offering a serious pay rise to NHS workers."
The unannounced inspection which took place in August and September focused on services where there were risks that the CQC were aware of. Inspectors looked at urgent and emergency care at Salford Royal, Royal Oldham and Fairfield General as well as medical care at all three hospitals.
They also inspected surgery in Salford and Oldham and maternity services at Royal Oldham and Rochdale Infirmary, all of which they said 'must improve'. Urgent and emergency services in Salford and Bury were described as 'cluttered' and 'overcrowded' with some patients cared for in corridors.
Inspectors said that urgent and emergency care at Salford Royal and Royal Oldham did not have enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Overall, they said the trust requires improvement in almost all areas including when assessing whether services are safe, effective, responsive and well-led.
NCA chief executive Dr Owen Williams said: "The care and safety of patients and the wellbeing of our colleagues remain central to what we are about and we are determined to work together to get better results for the people we serve. We fully accept the CQC’s judgement and their recommended areas for improvement and as the CQC have acknowledged, some improvements are already being made but they do not go far enough at this moment in time.”
He added: "I am pleased that the inspectors recognised what I have found out to be true in my first year as CEO, which is that many colleagues are totally caring and are working incredibly hard under a level of pressure the likes of which many of us have not experienced before. There is a lot of work to do but our patients can be assured that their safe care and treatment is of utmost importance to us and, on behalf of all my colleagues at the NCA, I would like to thank them for their understanding and support as we work very hard to turn this around."
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