Hospital investigated for failing to meet A&E targets
Health sector watchdog Monitor has launched the enquiry into the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust after it was found to have breached the national A&E quarterly target three times in a 21-month period.
The national target states that 95 per cent of patients should be seen within four hours of arrival.
Monitor said that it was concerned that persistent failures to meet this could signal wider governance problems at the trust.
The regulator has opened a formal investigation into whether the trust has breached the conditions of its licence to provide healthcare services.
Regional director at Monitor, Paul Streat, said: “Patients rightly expect the highest possible standards of care, that’s why we have launched this investigation.
“We want to make sure that the trust has not breached the terms of its licence.”
Monitor said it was also investigating the time the trust had taken to implement a computerised patient record system, the meeting of performance targets, such as the length of waiting times for cancer patients to be seen by a specialist, and the number of c.difficile cases. The watchdog also raised concerns about a lack of capacity at board level to deal with the issues.
The chief executive officer at the trust, Ed Donald, said: “We continue to provide high-quality and safe care to our patients across the trust.
“This investigation is not related to the quality of patient care we deliver but rather the speed at which we have addressed some of the challenges facing the trust.
“The executive team and board look forward to working with Monitor to respond to their investigation."
People who have used the Reading hospital have responded with mixed views on their experiences.
On Twitter lissygreen1 said: "Have visited twice. On both occasions waiting times were low, managed well and the staff were fantastic."
themrsfong said: "They definitely seemed under a lot of pressure last time we were there but we were still seen in a fair time."
But West Berkshire councillor for Theale, Alan Macro (Lib Dem) said on the same site: “My daughter was twice told by RBH she would be admitted and to go to A&E. Took over four hours both times, parking cost £9 each time."
Monitor said that regulatory action may be required and that the result of the investigation would be made in due course.
The trust suffered more problems earlier this year, when it was criticised for spending an extra £16m on consultants to deal with the new computerised patient record system that was riddled with problems and had already cost £12.5m, and it was placed in the bottom 20 per cent of hospitals in the Government’s new patient ‘friends and family’ test.