East Kent health trust endured showdown with Care Quality Commission inspectors

Published: 10:01, 20 July 2015

East Kent’s beleaguered hospitals have endured a week-long showdown with the national health watchdog after being plunged into special measures.

More than 50 Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission visited five hospitals across the region to assess whether standards have improved.

Hospitals boss Chris Bown, parachuted in on a salary of almost £300,000 to help save the ailing trust, says it is “impossible to predict” whether enough has been done to shed the special measures rating.

“I would be disappointed if their report did not recognise progress that has been made,” he said.

“We encouraged staff to talk openly and freely to the 50-plus inspectors who visited our hospitals over the course of the week.

“They went to many departments and we felt that staff were keen to demonstrate the improvements that have been made since the last inspection.

CQC inspectors visited Kent and Canterbury Hospital, the QEQM Hospital in Margate, Ashford’s William Harvey Hospital, Buckland Hospital in Dover and the Royal Victoria Hospital in Folkestone.

The William Harvey Hospital Ashford is currently the main focus for A&E care, along with the QEQM in Margate.

Last September it identified “serious failures in patient safety and leadership” within the trust.

Its inspectors also revealed a culture of managerial bullying and “a disconnect” between frontline employees and managers.

The watchdog imposed a programme of improvements needed to see the trust pulled out of special measures.

It will be several months before the outcome of this inspection is published.

Each hospital will be rated individually and the Trust will be given an overall score.

Mr Bown said: ““I would like to thank all staff who have been involved.

“For some it has been a challenging time and I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who has taken the time to share their experiences with the inspectors.”

The 54-year-old replaced previous chief executive Stuart Bain in late March, having arrived from scandal-hit Stafford Hospital, where he had worked in a similar interim role.

His £294,000 salary raised eyebrows, especially when it was revealed he would work a four-day week over his 12-month stint.

Mr Bown said: “There is still work to do and our improvement journey continues beyond the CQC’s visit.

“We will continue to make the changes we need to make and will use the inspectors' report when it is published to identify those areas we need to further strengthen and focus on.”

Last month Mr Bown sent an internal message to trust staff admitting that a rumoured centralising of acute services at a central ‘super-hospital’ in Canterbury would not be happening.

He admitted a projected price-tag of more than £600 million would be unaffordable.