Trusts’ row over stroke services sparks ‘significant safety’ concerns

A district general hospital has accused a major teaching trust of ‘failing to adhere to arrangements’ made around the provision of acute stroke services, sparking patient safety warnings in a local integrated care board’s (ICB) risk register.

Harrogate and District Foundation Trust’s accusation that its neighbour, Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust, is failing to comply with protocol around acute stroke pathways was published in West Yorkshire ICB’s risk register.

The ICB’s September risk register also said the “risk to patient safety is significant and probable if the situation remains unresolved”.

The issues centre on the provision of hyper-acute stroke unit beds, which provide the first two to three days of care for patients with newly diagnosed strokes, and what happens to patients requiring acute stroke care following their initial HASU stay.

West Yorkshire ICB said in its September’s performance report that the problem had “grown due to two recent clinical incidents,” but added “there is no quick solution to this problem”.

Harrogate has raised concerns with the ICB in recent months that “a number of patients are not receiving HASU level care at Leeds”.

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Source: HSJ, 3 October 2023