Streeting names and shames trust for ‘really poor’ care

The health and care secretary has singled out a trust for “really poor-quality care,” just moments after he said he was “not in the business of public humiliation.”

Wes Streeting said North East London Foundation Trust “continues to appear in the headlines for providing really poor quality care.”

Mr Streeting was responding to a question from the trust’s chair, Eileen Taylor, who had called on the minister to highlight the work being done by NELFT, which covers his Ilford North constituency.

NELFT is currently being prosecuted for manslaughter by gross negligence in the death of mental health inpatient Alice Figueiredo, for not removing suicide risks from the wards.

The organisation has also been criticised by a coroner for a “culture of impunity” and the falsification of patient records.

NELFT chair Eileen Taylor asked if Mr Streeting “could also reinforce that it’s not just the acute trust, but it’s the community and mental health care as well” after he had paid tribute to leadership at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust, which serves the same patch, prompting applause from the audience.

The health and care secretary responded: “I’m very aware of NELFT, not least because NELFT has and continues to appear in the headlines for providing really poor-quality care.

“So, if we want to name and shame, I’ll do the name and shame before the naming and praising… 

“I really don’t need lectures from NELFT about recognising the challenges and pressures there, because I read about them in the newspapers on a regular basis.”

Mr Streeting did say he agreed with Ms Taylor ”about the need for the left shift” which is “exactly what we want to deliver”.

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Source: HSJ, 13 November 2024

Related reading:

There are many better things Wes Streeting could focus on than picking rows with NHS managers, writes HSJ editor Alastair McLellan in Not having a row about failing managers