CQC response to report on paediatric cardiac surgery at John Radcliffe Hospital

The Care Quality Commission said today’s report about paediatric surgery at the John Radcliffe Hospital, raised serious concerns.

Cynthia Bower, CQC’s chief executive, said: “While the report does not say that the failings caused any deaths, I am in no doubt that babies were not receiving care that was as safe as it should be.

“The trust did not handle the safety concerns raised by the surgeon in an effective or transparent way. The delay in notifying the board, strategic health authority and regulator was unacceptable. The clinical governance arrangements to identify and monitor safety risks were not up to scratch. Induction and supervision was clearly poor.”

Ms Bower said CQC was monitoring the trust closely and planned to review standards at the trust as part of its new registration system, which involves ongoing monitoring of quality and safety.

“We will conduct a full review of quality and safety standards across the hospital. This will involve inspections, interviews with patients and staff, and a review of all available data. We won’t hesitate to take action if we find similar problems exist elsewhere in the hospital.”

Background

On 1 April, CQC introduced a tough new licensing system. It registered Oxford Radcliffe NHS Trust without conditions. However, the trust declared concerns relating to:
• insufficient staff on some wards
• poor attendance at staff training
• performance in the cardiac unit (these concerns relate to today’s report)

CQC did not consider that formal conditions were necessary because the trust had good plans in place to address these issues. CQC will check on progress during its upcoming review.