A RISK Summit was held yesterday (Thursday, December 22) following concerns raised following a Care Quality Commission inspection at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust (WAHT).
The Trust, in special measures following a CQC earlier this year, was visited at the end of last month.
The CQC had also raised concerns after making an unannounced inspection of the trust’s X-ray department in July, telling it to act to clear a backlog of images said to be running into the thousands.
The Summit, the second in less than 24 months at the trust, included representatives from WAHT, the three Worcestershire Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), including Redditch and Bromsgrove, and Worcestershire County Council.
Convened by NHS England, the summit was held to agree a programme of action and support to ensure that patient safety is not compromised.
A spokesperson for NHS England said: “An improvement plan is being implemented and the NHS and partner organisations across Worcestershire are working together for the benefit of patients to ensure that the services they receive are clinically safe and sustainable now and in the future.”
A spokesman for WAHT said: “NHS England convened a ‘Risk Summit’ at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust to discuss issues raised by the Care Quality Commission following its recent visits.
“The Summit was held to agree what the concerns and risks are and to agree a programme of action and support to ensure that patient safety is not compromised.
“The Trust welcomes the support and advice received and will be working to confirm all required actions and improvements are fully implemented.
“The actions we are taking will be published on our website once agreed and updated with progress made.”
The NHS England spokesperson added: “Risk summits are a tried and tested approach to understanding and mitigating risks within the health community by bringing together representatives from the provider organisation, commissioners, key clinical leaders and other stakeholders to explore and understand any issues or concerns raised.
“Together they agree what actions, if any, may be required, to ensure patient safety and quality can be guaranteed in the short, medium and longer term and whether futher risk summits are required.”
