Sarah Carr Questions Hereford Hospital on Foster Report

9.55.40am GMT Tue 1st Dec 2009

Sarah Carr, local campaigner and Liberal Democrat Prospective MP for Hereford, Ross and South Herefordshire, attended the Board Meeting of Hereford Hospitals NHS Trust on Monday 30th November to question the Chief Executive and Hospital Board members on a damaging report on Hereford Hospitals NHS Trust which appeared in national newspapers on Sunday 29th November. Mrs Carr asked the following question at the Board Meeting on 30th November after reading the Foster report:

'I was concerned, as I'm sure many people were, to see Hereford Hospitals NHS Trust being highlighted on the front pages of national newspapers regarding a report by Dr Foster Health that rates the Trust as being in the bottom 12 Trusts in the country for Patient Safety. Having read the Foster Report in some detail, it appears to fail in justifying the '1' (bottom) rating assigned. This is particularly with regard to the Trust's recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) rating of 'good', and the overall mortality rate being below the national average by some 6%. However, there are a few areas where serious attention is required, namely mortality rates associated with Strokes, heart attack and broken hips all being above the national average. Stroke mortality by some apparent 25%. It is important that local people get both an accurate picture of local services offered as well as the best services possible. I would welcome the Trust's response to this report and particularly to those areas of concern identified.'

The Chief Executive of the Hospital Trust Martin Woodford answered Mrs Carr's question with input from the Medical Director Dr Alison Budd and Chairman of the Hospital Trust Mark Curtis. They were keen to state that they were not in denial in areas that needed improvement and that action was needed. The Board meeting also reported that additional nursing and therapy resources had already been approved for the Stroke Unit having previously underachieved against the stroke standard in the 2008/9 Annual Health Check Rating. The Chair stated that the areas requiring improvement identified in the Foster Report would be brought back for review at the next Board Meeting. Commenting following the Board Meeting, Sarah Carr said,

"After the Hospital received such negative national press over the weekend I believed it was important to take the first opportunity to publicly question the Hospital's top management team and get a true picture of care at our local hospitals especially as after reading the Foster Report I had found there was less substance to justify such negative coverage. However, very sensibly Hereford Hospitals NHS Trust Board is taking this issue very seriously and has said they will monitor performance in the areas that specifically require improvement. At the Board Meeting I noted that the Hospitals Trust has already taken action in improving Stroke Care. I hope that the Trust will be able to tackle the problems identified in the Foster Report and report back more favourable news at the next Board Meeting that will further reassure local residents."