Agenda item

For the Committee to provide commentary on the Mid Cheshire NHS Foundation Trust (MCNHSFT) Quality Accounts which will be incorporated into the final document before it is published, as per NHS England and NHS Improvement recommendations to allow scrutiny and comment.  The item will be presented by Sally Mann, Deputy Director of Nursing and Oliver Bennett, Chief Operating Officer at MCNHSFT.

Councillor Rachel Bailey joined the meeting.

Sally Mann, Deputy Director of Nursing at Mid Cheshire NHS Foundation Trust and Oliver Bennett, Chief Operating Officer at Mid Cheshire NHS Foundation Trust attended the Committee and provided a presentation on the Quality Account.

The Committee noted that:

·         waves two and three of the Covid-19 Pandemic were difficult for the NHS, not as much was achieved as was hoped but the top priority was the quality of care and safety;

·         feedback obtained from patients through NHS Choices showed that 78% had positive experiences as opposed to 22% negative;

·         with regard to Never Events (the kind of mistake (medical error) that should never happen) Mid Cheshire Hospital reported 3 events, no patients had been harmed and they all occurred in theatres.  Out of 1299 deaths it was reported that one could have been avoided;

·         There had been a 70.4% compliance with Sepsis Pathway which met the target; and

·         An anomaly had been uncovered in respect of measuring postpartum haemorrhaging this had been rectified and Mid Cheshire Hospital were no longer considered an outlier.

The Committee were invited to ask questions and there was some discussion that included:

·         There was a query about why Covid vaccinations had dropped from 93%, to 91% and then 71% with the booster.  The Deputy Director of Nursing noted that the figure was improving;

·         The Committee noted that Mid Cheshire Hospital had analysed data and there had been no cased of MRSA, this was deemed to be because there were no instances of norovirus, flu, or the normal infections for that time of the year.  People were wearing PPE and in a super-heightened awareness of infection control;

·         In terms of recruitment, it was acknowledged that recruitment and retention of staff was a challenge, particularly where there had been a reliance on international nurses.  The need for a diverse workforce was known, and the Committee were advised that Chester and Keale were the main areas locally for recruitment of student nurses.  Registered Nursing did not experience any drop in applications for employment, however there were issues attracting health care support workers.  During the pandemic, the availability of furlough and the opportunities of better paid jobs outside of health care meant that many did not return to the profession.  Where Mid Cheshire Hospital would have expected to receive 100 job applications in the past, that figure now reaches 29.

·         Sickness levels dropped to 6% during the pandemic, when they could have risen to 30%;

·         The Committee were particularly interested in the issue relating to de-brief appointments and how can capacity could be created, the Deputy Director of Nursing agreed to take this action back to the Head of Midwifery to get a full answer to the Committee;

·         The national expectation for priority and key national priority was for no patient to wait more than 2-years for treatment, there were none of these patients at Mid-Cheshire and the focus was now on cancer patients;

·         The maintained standard of ambulance handovers in Mid Cheshire, the new Accident and Emergency department at Leighton Hospital, and the investment into Northwich Infirmary;

·         Reassurances that where avoidable patient deaths occurred, the hospital work with the families first before any further investigations were completed.

RESOLVED:

That the Quality Account be received and noted and any further comments by this Committee (to those already made) be submitted to Mid Cheshire Hospital.