Staff raise concerns over ‘inadequate’ children’s services

Following an unannounced inspection by the Care Quality Commission, children’s and young people’s services at a major acute trust have been rated “inadequate”. The inspection was prompted due to concerns from the staff.

The CQC visited Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, Hospital in Thanet and the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, both run by East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust, in October after receiving “concerning information from members of the public and staff” about the emergency departments and children’s inpatient wards.

The CQC rates the children’s services as “inadequate” for being safe and well led, but they were rated “good” for caring. The CQC also used its enforcement powers to impose conditions of the trust’s registration requiring regular reporting on staffing and other matters.

Full story on HSJ, 15 February 2019