THERE were no surprises for the Trust in yesterday's report into the Keogh Review.
Health chiefs at the Trust that runs Grimsby's hospital attempted to reassure residents that it was "committed to putting our patients, their safety and wellbeing at the very heart of everything we do".
There is no suggestion in the report that any of the 254 excess deaths across the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in the 12 months up to February this year could necessarily have been prevented, but failings in patient care and procedure were heavily criticised.
The latest figure, unveiled as part of the report, has been calculated using a new method adopted by the Trust, which maintains that the figures that led to the probe in the first place were always six to 12 months out of date because of the way they were calculated.
Trust medical director, Dr Liz Scott said: "We very much welcome this report and value the Keogh team's support and advice. The Keogh team have been fair in highlighting examples of good practice as well as improvements that need to be made.
"There is still more work to do but we are confident we will continue to bring our mortality ratios down further."
Trust chief executive Karen Jackson added: "There are no surprises in the final report. It reinforces what we already know and are working on, and reassures us that we are addressing the right issues. The majority of the recommended actions are already being implemented. However, we need to make more progress, faster.
"Patient safety and quality of care is always our top priority. People can be reassured that we are committed to putting our patients, their safety and wellbeing at the very heart of everything we do."
Dr Peter Melton, accountable officer for North East Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) , said: "The people of Northern Lincolnshire should have high quality health services that compare with the very best in the country and following the CCG's previous report into mortality rates in Northern Lincolnshire a lot of work has been done by everyone concerned to improve the quality of care. As CCGs it is our job to continue to drive these improvements in care."
The report highlights that patient voice comments, received directly via the Keogh review website, praised the intensive care unit at Grimsby's Diana, Princess Of Wales Hospital, but the following criticisms were received:
Patients put on a "Do Not Resuscitate" programme/Liverpool Care Pathway without consulting the family
Unsatisfactory response from PALS/the Trust
Lack of basic care and neglect by staff in Grimsby, including a lack of hydration, assistance with eating and inappropriate food
Inadequate staffing
Misdiagnosis
The full report can be read here.
