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BBC News
17 hours ago
- Health
- BBC News
What next for troubled Nottingham NHS trust after £1.6m fine?
The NHS is largely funded by public money paid for through taxes and national February, one of the busiest and biggest NHS trusts in England was given a record £1.6m fine over maternity failings in connection with the deaths of three University Hospitals (NUH) NHS trust is already at the centre of the largest maternity review of its kind in the NHS, following hundreds of baby deaths and injuries. When it was fined at Nottingham Magistrates' Court, the judge said the trust was operating at a deficit of about £100m, and added there was "no money to pay any substantial fines without requiring the trust to make further cuts".District Judge Grace Leong considered other court judgements and guidelines for comparable offences before handing down the why was an already struggling, publicly-funded service given such a large fine, and what justice did the fine bring for the families the trust let down? The details of the case Adele O'Sullivan died on 7 April 2021 - just 26 minutes old - Kahlani Rawson died on 15 June at four days old and Quinn Lias Parker died on 16 July at two days old. NUH pleaded guilty to six counts of failing to provide safe care and treatment to the babies and their mothers, in a prosecution brought by the healthcare watchdog, the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The court heard there were similar failings in all three cases, including a failure to expedite the delivery of the babies, not recognising serious conditions, communication issues and staff not being equipped to interpret anomalies in foetal heart monitoring. It was the second time the trust had been prosecuted by the CQC for maternity failings. In 2023, the trust was fined £800,000 over the death of Wynter Andrews, who died shortly after her birth at the Queen's Medical Centre in 2019. Until this year, that fine was the largest handed down for maternity failings. NUH prosecutions make up two of five maternity-related criminal prosecutions brought by the CQC. The watchdog gained powers under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated activities) Regulations 2014, in prosecution by the CQC is separate from any prosecution that could arise from a corporate manslaughter investigation, which was opened earlier this 2 June, Nottinghamshire Police said it was examining whether maternity care provided by NUH had been grossly negligent. How did the judge decide on £1.6m? In her sentencing remarks, District Judge Grace Leong said she would have to fix a "significant financial penalty" to mark the gravity of the offences, but also had to strike "a delicate balance"."I cannot ignore the negative impact that the fine will have on services to patients at a time when the NHS continues to face unprecedented challenges both in terms of insufficient funding, the backlog of patients waiting for treatment and the demands placed upon the trust's services from an ageing population," the judge was no ceiling to the level of fine the judge could meant the sentence was a matter of discretion, with the judge considering other sources of guidance - such as any High Court or Court of Appeal judgements - and other sentencing guidelines for comparable was reduced from a starting point of £5.5m, as the judge took into account the financial implications on the public body and its guilty pleas. How could the fine impact services? In response to the BBC, a statement from NUH chief executive Anthony May said: "We fully accept the findings from court, including the fine handed down by the judge. "The mothers and families of these babies have had to endure things that no family should after the care provided by our hospitals failed them, and for that I am truly sorry."We will work to ensure to minimise the impact of the fine on our patients, including ongoing efforts to improve our maternity services."NUH did not want to put anyone forward for interview, and did not wish to detail how the fine might impact services. Roy Lilley, former chairman of the old Homewood NHS Trust in Chertsey, Surrey - which later merged with Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust - and now an independent commentator on health service issues, said some impact on services would be "inevitable". "Clearly a chunk of money like £1.6m is going to have an impact on the trust's ability to operate."The day-to-day running of the trust is, of course, difficult enough with all the financial pressures but to have this kind of money taken out of its revenue balances, it makes it even more difficult," he said. Mr Lilley - who has not worked for NUH - added: "It will certainly slow down some of the plans that they had in terms of improvements.""Generally it has a very bad effect, a big impact on the trust's ability to respond," he said. Mr Lilley said it was possible for trusts to seek loans from the Department of Health of Social Care (DHSC) in the face of financial difficulty. The BBC understands while NHS trusts are expected to meet their legal and financial obligations - including prosecution fines - they can access loans in some instances. The trust's annual budget is £1.8bn. What does the fine mean to the families? The families affected by NUH's maternity failings have consistently called for the sentencing, solicitor Natalie Cosgrave - representing the parents of baby Quinn - said in a statement that the prosecution was "the only system that exists" to obtain Simpson, an associate clinical negligence solicitor who represented the families of Adele and Kahlani, told the BBC the trust's guilty plea was "some level of accountability, but it's only one part of a much bigger picture".To the bereaved families, it is individuals who should be held accountable, not just the trust as an organisation, Ms Simpson Simpson has also represented the families of Adele and Kahlani, as well as others, in civil claims against NUH. At each stage of the various investigations and proceedings they have endured - including inquests, internal reviews and court hearings - the families have called for more change and scrutiny. Ms Simpson said: "The judge was very clear that a fine is the only sentence that she can impose, and no fine is ever going to be enough when you've lost your child." During the sentencing in February, the earlier case of Wynter Andrews - who died 23 minutes after being born - was referenced several parents Sarah and Gary Andrews watched the hearing from the public gallery "as concerned parents", but did not know their daughter's case would be mentioned "quite so prominently". "I think for us it's important to highlight that this process is the only avenue that families have to get some accountability," he said."The judge is in a really difficult position, I feel, but we're counting pennies over babies' lives." Where does the money go? The fine is paid to HM Treasury - the government's finance ministry which controls public spending - as with any prosecution affected in this case will not receive any of the money from the trust was also told to cover prosecution costs of £67,755.23 and a victim surcharge of £ costs in this case will be paid to the CQC. The victim surcharge - which is imposed on offenders to ensure they hold some responsibility towards the cost of support victims and witnesses - goes to a general fund and not directly to those involved. That money provides a contribution towards Ministry of Justice-funded support services for victims and witnesses. The £1.6m fine is separate from the tens of millions of pounds the trust has paid out in damages for civil claims in relation to maternity care. What next for the trust? Nottinghamshire Police's investigation into the trust's maternity services - called Operation Perth - has seen more than 200 family cases referred to it so the separate maternity review by senior midwife Donna Ockenden is currently examining the testimony of more than 2,000 cases. The review began in September 2022 and closed to new cases at the end of May. Ms Ockenden's final report of findings is due to be published in June last week, the trust announced plans to cut at least 430 jobs in an attempt to save £97m in the next planned job cuts follow the government's instruction to all trusts to reduce the size of their corporate and support services, and were not as a result of the record fine, the trust said.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Care home rated inadequate for second time by CQC
A care home in Kent has been rated inadequate by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for the second time. Hevercourt in Gravesend received the rating following an inspection in February which the CQC said found five breaches of legal regulations relating to safe care and treatment, safeguarding, staffing, recruitment and how the service was managed. In response to these findings, CQC imposed urgent conditions on the home to restrict them from taking on new residents without prior agreement from the watchdog. Hevercourt, which was also rated inadequate in a report published in September 2024, has been contacted for a comment. Inspectors found staff were supporting people with unsafe techniques, medicines were still not being managed or stored safely, people's care records and plans were not updated and lacked detail, and incident management and safeguarding systems were poor. The report also said staff were not always recruited safely and there were gaps in employment checks. Areas of the home - including people's bedrooms - remained difficult to keep clean and in need of updating, and the environment continued to be potentially disorienting for people with dementia. A new manager was in post since the last inspection, but the provider had not given them a clear induction or action plan, the CQC said. However, the watchdog added that staff reported the new manager had made some positive changes, such as acting quickly on a concern about a lack of equipment. Serena Coleman, CQC deputy director of operations in the south, said staff did not take action when people's health was at risk. "We also saw detail was missing from notes about what staff did when someone had choked on their food, and staff didn't support people who had wounds on their skin to regularly change positions to prevent further injury," she said. The deputy director said in the watchdog's previous inspection it found people were at risk of sexualised behaviour from other residents and this was still the case. Ms Coleman added: "During the inspection, we saw a 20-minute period where no staff were present in a room with six residents. "Incident reports showed 80% of falls happened during the night shift, but staffing levels hadn't been reviewed." The deputy leader said the care home had been told where "immediate and widespread" improvements were needed. The CQC explained that the home remained in special measures, meaning it was being closely monitored to ensure people were kept safe whilst improvements were made. Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@ or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. Care service provider rated inadequate by CQC Adult social care requires improvement - watchdog Care home and agency in special measures - CQC Hevercourt Care Quality Commission
BBC News
13-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Adult social care in Stoke-on-Trent is rated as good
A regulator has praised a city council for its commitment to "promoting people's independence" as part of its adult social care Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated the Stoke-on-Trent City Council's adult social care service as "good" following a recent inspection.A report released on Friday highlighted staff's "passion" and leadership, but criticised the authority for delays in people accessing equipment or home City Council has been approached for a comment on the report. James Bullion, CQC's chief inspector of adult social care, said the authority had improved services through "effective management and close work with partner organisations".He said staff demonstrated a passion for improving people's lives while leaders were focused on "making the authority a great place to live and work for all residents"."We saw a local authority committed to promoting people's independence to give them the best possible outcome," Mr Bullion added. 'Hard work' However, he said the authority needed better oversight of equality diversity and inclusion work and highlighted delays in some parts of the service and resource experienced some delays in receiving assessments, he added, as well as reviews for social care, occupational therapy and financial Bullion concluded by saying the report had positive findings that "reflect the hard work of staff" and the authority had plans in place to improve the issues identified. Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Regulator acts against care home 'to protect users'
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has removed the registration of a care provider in Surrey to "protect people". The regulator has taken the action against Head Office, run by Mitchells' Care Homes Limited, which provided a supported living service in Horley, to prevent it from operating after it was rated inadequate for a second time. An inspection last year found no "significant, widespread" improvement could be sustained. Natasha Mitchell, who runs Head Office, said the decision to remove the company from the CQC register was based on "incorrect information". Head Office provided care to adults with severe learning disabilities and complex autism across 21 settings. It was inspected in May 2023 after the CQC received concerns about unsafe care, unsafe staff levels and people not being protected from abuse. The second inspection across April and May last year was carried out during a tribunal process in which Head Office was appealing the CQC's attempts to get it removed from the register. Inspectors said they found leaders failed to ensure staff were properly recruited or trained and were working long hours over multiple days causing fatigue and poor care. Relatives told the CQC management could be unhelpful and defensive when they raised issues. One family member told inspectors about their loved one being bullied in one of the houses and it was found staff had failed to look into why this was happening. Many other issues were discovered, including leaders running an "institutionalised" service where care was provided based on what was easier for staff rather than what people preferred. Staff failed to help service users develop or retain their ability to make choices, which could lead to a loss of independence, the CQC said. As a result, Head Office was again rated inadequate. The findings were then presented to a judge and the care provider was unsuccessful in its appeal to a tribunal. It means Head Office has been deregistered from the CQC and cannot run a CQC-regulated service. Ms Mitchell said Head Office was put into administration during the tribunal process but care receivers remain at the properties they own as a new provider was brought in. "All the allegations made against us were subject to appeal at tribunal, however, we were unable to complete this process as we entered administration," she said. Ms Mitchell said her priority now was to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the people in her properties. Last year, the CQC cancelled the registration of Mitchell's Care Homes Limited after inadequate ratings at all three of its care homes. Surrey County Council said it had ensured everyone supported by Mitchell's Care Homes and the Head Office division had been moved safely to new providers - which in most cases meant people were able to remain in their existing homes. Follow BBC Surrey on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@ or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. Regulator confirms action taken against care homes Care homes close amid 'neglect' concerns from CQC
BBC News
11-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Birmingham clinic's mental health services require improvement
NHS mental health provision in Birmingham still requires improvement, inspectors staff at the Reaside Clinic, a mental health clinic in Rednal, had not received all the appropriate and necessary training, a report from the Care Quality Commision said, and staff did not always involve patients in assessing their needs. The overall rating for Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust was requires the trust was judged to be good for being caring, well-led and responsive. The CQC said bosses needed to do more work to ensure patients received safe and effective care that met their needs. The inspection team visited the medium secure unit to check up on improvements the trust was told to make at a previous clinic provides assessment, treatment and rehabilitation to people with severe mental health problems across seven said there had been some improvements which meant the service was no longer in breach of regulations related to governance and oversight, but inspectors found two further breaches of regulations during their inspection in related to person-centred care and qualified staffing, they inspection team also visited the forensic intensive recovery and support teams (FIRST) following a serious incident which the trust had the forensic service - and the ratings for how safe and effective the service was - was found to require improvement. Amanda Lyndon, CQC deputy director of operations in the Midlands, said people had a mixed experiences of receiving care and treatment at Reaside."Some people told us that staff weren't always kind and caring," she said."However, people felt safe on the wards and knew who to speak to if they had any concerns."She said inspectors were told staff had cancelled some escorted leave outside of the unit due to low staffing levels, and that staff were sometimes too busy to support said they were told there were fewer activities on one ward following the departure of an activity worker, but that the trust had said it had plans to address this."Leaders at Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS need to focus on improving the effectiveness of people's care by making sure their individual needs are taken into account," she said."There are many positive findings at FIRST they can look to emulate at Reaside, and build on to make care consistently safer for people at all services." Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
