HOSPITAL FEELING SICK OVER WATCHDOG'S REPORT

28-09-2007

Was Birmingham's University Hospital Trust hard done by when it was criticised for its care of the elderly in a report by the Healthcare Commission? The Stirrer thinks they were.

In common with other media organisations, we reported that the NHS watchdog had surveyed 23 Trusts, and found that only five were compliant with official standards for treating older patients with dignity (see link here).

The University Trust (which runs Selly Oak and the QE) and Walsall Hospitals Trust avoided the worst criticism, but both were somewhere in the middle rank - in other words, they weren't awful, but they were failing in their basic duty of care.

In our account of it, they both had "a firm rap on the knuckles".

Other media told a similar story, which wasn't altogether surprising as we were all working from the same press release (see link here)

The Commission's broad brush approach encouraged journalists to believe that particular faults were general ones - and it has to be said sone lazy hacks were only too willing to play ball.

Dig a little deeper though, and you'll find that the UHB in particular, has been done a disservice by the Healthcare Commission.

We've discovered that of the five measurements made by inspectors, UHB got a "no further action" rating in four. In just one, relating to meal-times, inspectors identified the need for improvements, which would be monitored by a six-month follow-up.

But significantly, unlike some other Trusts, UHB did not fall into the category of "some risk identified" of non -compliance. Indeed, but for their one lapse, they would have been fully compliant.

(Walsall, incidentally, was compliant on three out of five measurements.)

Insiders at UHB have graciously conceded that our "rap over the knuckles" summary was fair.

We think they are being too kind - they actually performed quite well, and if there are areas where they could do better, there's no reason to believe that those changes won't be made.

No one would deny the importance of ensuring that elderly patients are properly cared for - and to that end, rigorous monitoring is essential.

Those hospital trusts who fail deserve to be named and shamed.

But it's hardly fair to suggest - as some local media egged on by the Healthcare Commission did yesterday - that UHB falls into that category.

It seems to us as though the watchdog has spun its own figures to get a few banner headlines - and in the process has spread alarm and panic in the population at large.

That's unfair on the hard-working staff who walk the wards of the West Midlands - and it undermines confidence in the NHS without good cause.