Long waiting times for beds and too few nurses on duty are among many complaints of patients at a ‘worse than average’ hospital trust.
Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust (MYHT) scored ‘worse’ than average in six out of 61 categories in an inpatient satisfaction survey, carried about by government health watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
MYHT scored average ratings in the remaining 53 categories and zero in better than average ratings.
The understaffed trust, which runs Dewsbury District Hospital, scored poorly for the time it took to find beds for patients and for its nursing staffing levels.
The Trust scored worse than average for pain control and giving patients sufficient information about their medication.
The trust, which also runs Wakefield Pinderfields Hospital and Pontefract General, performed below average for treating patients with respect and dignity.
The CQC report follows a damning report from trust employees in the NHS Staff Survey 2015.
In the earlier report, the trust was criticised for its ‘culture of bullying’ and for putting money before the welfare of its patients and staff.
MYHT, which plans to close emergency care at Dewsbury, has recruited new chief executive, Martin Barkley to turn the trust around.
Spen MP Jo Cox, whose constituency includes the hospital, said the results of the survey were ‘not acceptable’.
She said: “The results of the CQC survey of inpatients are not acceptable but are not a surprise given all the information I and others have had over the last year.
“Staff morale is rock bottom and there have been serious staff shortages. Patients have suffered from long waiting times and inadequate care.”
But Ms Cox said she was that the trust’s Urgent Care Improvement Plan was ‘the right course’ for fixing the trust’s problems.
She said: “The new chief executive of trust, Martin Barkley, has a plan which has workforce engagement and staff morale as a crucial ingredient.
“Alongside this, an Urgent Care Improvement Plan (UCIP) is in place to fix the very severe operational pressures at the trust.”
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David Melia, MYHT Acting Chief Nurse, said: “Overall, we compared well and consistently with other NHS Trusts in England. We were behind on only a small number of questions.
“These questions related to low staffing levels and medication or information on medication on discharge. Both of which we’ve made improvements on since the survey was completed.
“We are thoroughly committed to continuously improving the services we provide across the trust. These surveys help us identify areas where we are getting things right, but also help us prioritise where we need to do more.”
