Mid Staffordshire report – ECA responds
Published: 18 May 2009
You will all no doubt be familiar with the recent report by the Healthcare Commission into the Mid Staffordshire Hospitals Trust. The particular focus of the investigation was on the emergency admissions process within the trust. As a response to this, NHS Chief Executive David Nicholson stated: "... where senior management and boards fail to act to ensure the ongoing quality and safety of the care they provide, they must be held accountable". Sadly, this was a foundation trust and the ECA believes that the Government must take some responsibility for the pressure it bears that forces hospitals to make the financial cuts in order to comply and achieve foundation status.
Quality versus cost ...
Many NHS trusts in the last couple of years did cut staffing from front-line services such as emergency departments - this cannot be done without having some effect on the quality and safety of care received by patients. Whilst the ECA recognises that quality cannot be delivered at any cost, there has to be a clear understanding that it cannot be delivered without appropriate investment.
Staff in emergency departments work tirelessly every day to deliver the best care they can in under-resourced environments and at the same time face pressures to meet poorly thought-through targets. The results of the survey conducted by the ECA around the four-hour standard should be raising alarm bells for everyone, the Government included.