Star comment: Hospitals must keep moving in the right direction
While there is clearly more work to be done it is encouraging to see that, according to the Care Quality Commission, standards are generally improving at Shropshire’s two main hospitals.
Both hospitals have rarely been out of the spotlight in recent months and it is therefore reassuring to note that they are moving in the right direction.
Nonetheless the CQC’s overall assessment that the NHS trust requires further improvement reminds us there is still much to be done.
The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital provide services in an uncertain time. They are dogged by concerns over their future, with maternity and child services and with the ongoing and protracted issue of Future Fit at the forefront of these.
Then there are heavy stresses and strains placed on Accident and Emergency Units as too many people continue to request 999 ambulances when alternatives are available.
The report also provides some reassurance that steps are being taken to address concerns over certain aspects of care at the trust.
The caring attitude of staff is deserving of note. The people who perform everyday miracles give of their best and are highly valued for their exceptional work.
Yet there remain too many areas that are underperforming and trust chief Simon Wright must attend to those.
Improvements are required when it comes to attendance levels for mandatory training and waiting times for A&E are too long – though those might be addressed by a variety of measures. There is also a heavy reliance on agency staff, which pushes the costs of running the hospitals ever higher, while there is a lack of consultants and doctors.
Such findings will give Mr Wright and his team pause for thought. They are no doubt already aware of where improvements are required and plans will be in place to address such failings.
The outlook is more positive than before but the task now is to ensure these steps in the right direction are maintained to deliver the outstanding service the people of Shropshire and Mid Wales deserve.
