Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust has been served with enforcement actions by NHSE due to a ‘fundamental failure in quality governance’.
The trust runs four hospitals across Greater Manchester,Salford Royal, the Royal Oldham, Rochdale Infirmary and Fairfield General in Bury.
The notice relates largely to issues at Salford Royal,where two reports were published into harm suffered by patients at the spinal unit and how the trust dealt with the concerns being raised about the work of one surgeon, John Bradley Williamson, at the Hospital.
In a letter to the trust, NHSE highlights a ‘series of escalating quality concerns over the previous 18 months’.
‘The Licensee is currently unable to provide assurance, as described in the independent review of quality governance by the GGI, that the organisation has a clear and consistent quality governance structure across the whole organisation that will ensure no further patients may suffer harm. The Licensee does not have effective systems and processes to identify and address risks affecting the quality and safety of the surgical wards.’
Dr Owen Williams, chief executive at the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, said: ‘We recognise the seriousness of the concerns raised by NHS England.
‘Over the past 18 months, we have worked with NHS England to improve services, respond to Care Quality Commission concerns and strengthen governance across the organisation.’
