Urgent improvements needed at Sheffield Hospitals

CQC Findings

Several areas of patient care were identified as either “requiring improvement” or “inadequate”, with urgent recommendations issued to shore up protections for those being treated.

The findings are the result of an unannounced follow-up investigation carried out by the health regulator in November 2021, following an assessment in October which initially highlighted key areas of concern.

The full report is available on the CQC’s website.

Inadequate maternity services could result in birth injury claims

One of the major concerns highlighted by investigators was the standard of maternity care at the Trust’s Jessop Wing, which was deemed “inadequate” by the CQC.

This is despite warnings from a prior inspection in March 2021 which indicated that services were not up to scratch, and a subsequent letter of intent being issued setting out how they were to be improved.

Ann Ford, CQC’s deputy chief inspector for the North, gave a particularly damning assessment of this area of care, stating:

“Our inspectors found deterioration, as well as safety concerns in maternity. Staffing issues and delays in induction of labour were putting women at risk of harm. There had been a lack of timeliness in addressing some of the concerns identified at our previous inspection.”

Women who experienced substandard care at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust may subsequently be entitled to pursue birth injury compensation claims to address any harm they and / or their children suffered because of poor care.

Wider indications of possible clinical negligence

Maternity services were not the only ones where serious concerns were highlighted in relation to the standards of patient care.

The CQC also found that:

• Leadership at the Trust did not always have sufficient oversight of patient healthcare risks and were subsequently not able to manage them effectively.
• Staff felt demoralised and had in some cases stopped reporting significant incidents to management.
• The Trust had in many cases failed to adequately protect patients’ dignity and privacy.
• Patient access to vital treatments was frequently inhibited, with long wait times expected for a significant number of them.

These kinds of failures can and often do amount to clinical negligence, for which patients can claim medical negligence compensation for any resulting afflictions.

Have you been affected by poor care from the trust?

If you or a loved one has suffered a result of poor care administered by the Trust, you should speak to a clinical negligence solicitor about your options for possible recourse.

You may be entitled to make a no win, no fee birth injury or medical negligence compensation claim to help you secure the funding, or the treatments required to put things right.

Contact us for free initial advice, with no obligation to proceed.