Whipps Cross University Hospital

18th February 2010

Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust does not accept that it is `failing to implement patient safety alerts’, as the charity avma (Action against medical accidents) has claimed NHS trusts are doing.

The avma report claims the trust has failed to implement 14 patient safety alerts. In fact, the trust is working hard to implement the recommendations on all these alerts, and the number that has not yet been achieved has already reduced to just 11.

Nancy Fontaine, Deputy Director of Nursing/Patient Safety and Quality, said: “The report is out of date and its conclusions are too explicit.

“We are very serious about protecting patients and have established a clinical lead in every hospital specialty with responsibility for clinical governance – the process of ensuring that new developments in safety are brought in as soon as possible.

“In the few cases where we have not complied to the deadline, work has been completed to ensure that the new guidelines are followed by all our clinical staff and project plans to reach compliance have been agreed.

“However, we strongly support the work of the National Patient Safety Agency, which has made a major difference to the way staff undertake clinical work.

“The Trust is also participating in the national Leading Improvement in Patient Safety programme delivered by the NHS Institute of Innovation and Improvement.”

Ends

Notes to Editor

• Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust is an acute Trust providing care to the local population of Waltham Forest, west Redbridge, Essex and east London.
• We provide a comprehensive range of acute healthcare services, responding to both emergencies and planned operations.
• The Trust has education, training and research roles as well as providing a number of 'shared services' to other NHS Trusts.
• The Big Push appeal for Whipps Cross Maternity Unit will raise £350,000 for essential equipment and resources benefiting the 5,000 babies born at Whipps every year.