MP urges improvement for young people's services at Telford hospital
A Shropshire MP has expressed his alarm over action needed at a Shropshire hospital to improve patient safety.
Ludlow MP Philip Dunne said a report on children and young people's services at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford was "troubling".
The former health minister's comments comes after the Care Quality Commission (CQC) conducted an inspection on February 24, following concerns about the quality and safety of the assessment and treatment of children and young people who presented to the service with acute mental health needs or learning disabilities.
The trust which runs the hospital, Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), is now subject to urgent conditions, including that it must not admit any new patients under the age of 18 who present solely with acute mental health needs.
The conditions require the trust to report to CQC on a weekly basis detailing the action it is taking to ensure the safety of patients using the service.
Mr Dunne said: “This latest intervention from the CQC is very alarming, with the SaTH being downgraded from Requires Improvement to Inadequate in its rating for children and young people’s services.
"This is all the more troubling knowing the profound impact the pandemic and lockdown have had on many young people’s mental health.
"It is vital the trust’s management get a grip of this situation, using its improvement alliance with University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust for the advice and expertise needed to improve performance drastically as quickly as possible.”
