AFTER another damning report on the level of care within the Mid and South Essex NHS Hospitals Trust a regional MP has repeated her call for action.

Last week Nub News reported on the shocking performance record at the hospitals operated by the trust, which include Basildon and Orsett hospitals, which saw it in the bottom ten of 134 trusts across the country.

Today more criticism is heaped on the trust following publication of Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors' reports on local children's care. Basildon and Broomfield hospitals have been rated as 'inadequate' and they also downgraded Southend Hospital's services from good to requires improvement.

Inspectors found there were high numbers of children readmitted soon after discharge.

Inspections were carried out in response to 'specific incidents and ongoing concerns' over the safety of children receiving care, the CQC said.

Staff were found to be under "severe pressure" at Basildon Hospital and often cared for up to 20 children in rooms designed for six.

They told inspectors that high demand and staffing shortages made it difficult to manage risks safely.

The specific failings at Basildon are:

Inspectors found in Children and Young People's services at Basildon University Hospital: 

• Inspectors found a backlog of paediatric discharge summaries and high numbers of children re-admitted soon after discharge, raising serious concerns about the effectiveness, continuity and safety of care.
• Staff didn't always feel supported by senior leaders and felt undervalued. They also didn't feel able to influence the future vision and values of the service.
• Families told CQC staff were kind, but inspectors found communication was poor, information wasn't always tailored to children's needs, and waits for treatment were too long.
• Staff were under severe pressure, often working without breaks in an overcrowded paediatric assessment unit where up to 20 children were cared for in a space designed for six.
• Inspectors found in urgent and emergency care that leaders didn't always manage risks across the care journey effectively. Staff told inspectors the high level of demand and staffing shortages made it difficult to maintain oversight of young people and manage risks safely.    

The full report can be read via this link.

In the wake of today's report Thurrock MP Jen Craft, who last week called for government intervention at the Mid and South Essex Trust, said: "While this report will be deeply worrying to families in Thurrock, its findings are sadly not a surprise.

"This is yet another example of how failures in running Basildon Hospital are letting down Thurrock residents and potentially putting patients at risk.

"Frontline staff are working under severe pressure and in impossible conditions, with children and young people receiving an unacceptable standard of care as a result.

"None of this is their fault, frontline staff deliver the best care they can, as my family along with so many in our community have experienced time and time again. The fault lies solely with hospital management who are letting down both staff and patients

"There must now be urgent action to deliver long-overdue improvements at the trust, so local families are secure in the knowledge that their loved ones will receive safe and reliable care at the hospital."