Health inspectors have indicated one of the largest NHS Trusts will be placed in special measures, taking the total number of failing Trusts up to 15.
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trusts has been deemed “inadequate” by inspectors, who warned of short-staffing and failings in maternity care.
Hospitals are placed in special measures when there are “concerns about the quality of care that hospitals are delivering,” according to NHS England.
READ MORE: What are 'special measures' - and what happens?
There are two watchdogs: the NHS Trust Development Authority, which oversees NHS Trusts, while Monitor oversees foundation trusts – which typically have more freedom. Special measures are usually triggered by a visit from the Chief Inspector of Hospitals.
Cambridge University Trust follows a decision last week to place East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust in special measures, taking the total up to 15 nationwide. Here are the 13 other NHS Trusts currently in special measures:
1. Burton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
It was placed in special measures in July 2013 by the Keogh Report and upgraded to highest risk category three months afterwards. Most recently, a dramatic increase in the number of health workers requiring time off for mental health was reported by the Burton Mail.
2. North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust
Similarly to Burton, the North Cumbria Trust was placed in special measures (and then upgraded at the same time) in 2013.
The Trust had long-running issues, mainly linked to supplying out-of-hospital care to isolated rural communities. As a result, it struggled with its budget with a Health Service Journal reporting it was among Trusts “pleading” for extra funding to make up staff shortages.
3. Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Placed in special measures in 2013 as part of the Keogh report. It provides healthcare to 420,000 people across north Nottinghamshire, in addition to parts of Derbyshire and Lincolnshire.
4. Medway NHS Foundation Trust
In 2013 the Trust was placed in special measures. The following year, the Daily Telegraph uncovered evidence the “six figure sums” paid to leading executives at the Trust as the hospital was short of more than 100 nurses.
Most recently, the Trust was among 26 hospitals significantly increasing the national waiting time in accident and emergency over the winter of 2014 to 2015. Staff previously described working there as akin to being “under siege”.
5. Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust
Placed in special measures in 2013. It was also among the 26 contributing to increasing national waiting time in 2014/15, while in December 2013 it was revealed it had been forced to pay out more than £23million in negligence claims from maternity care over the past five years.
The Trust remains one of the largest in the country, serving more than 700,000 people.
6. Colchester University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
The Trust failed to meet standards in 2009, with Monitor placing it in special measures in 2013. In 2014 a “major incident” was declared by the CQC (Care Quality Commission) and the hospital appealed to residents to only visit A&E for “life-threatening” conditions.
7. East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust
In 2010 the hospital was named “Trust of the Year” – but only three years later suffered a vermin infestation, and was placed in special measure by the CQC in 2014.
8. University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust
It was placed in special measures in 2014 by Monitor, following an assessment that despite aspects of “good” service, found leadership and safety were lacking. It provides services to approximately 350,000 people.
9. Wye Valley NHS Trust
Placed in special measures in 2014, following a CQC visit earlier that year. The report found the Trust “regularly breached” national targets in its A&E department with a lack of clear leadership, insufficient staff and unsafe conditions found.
10. Hinchingbrooke NHS Trust
The CQC found the Trust “inadequate” at the beginning of this year. Although critical care, maternity and outpatient care were regarded as good, A&E merited particular concern.
11. Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (mental health trust)
In February the Trust became the first mental health unit to be placed in special measures. The CQC deemed it “not a safe … service”. Problems identified included lack of staff, poor leadership and concern over the safety of the services.
12. Barts Health NHS Trust
The largest NHS Trust in the UK was placed in special measures in March. CQC inspectors found 15 areas in which the hospital required urgent improvement – one of the most damning assessments ever issued by the commission.
It found that morale was low, there was a culture of bullying, and “staffing was a key challenge across all services”.
13. West Hertfordshire NHS Trust
Placed in special measures in September. A CQC report found insufficient staff, with some employees reporting “lack of empowerment and high levels of stress”. Shortages of nursing staff were deemed a “major risk” to patients with facilities in such bad repair they also caused risk for patients in the Trust’s three hospitals.
