‘Outstanding’ trust drops to ‘requires improvement’ after staff ‘let down by senior leaders’

An ‘outstanding’ trust’s Care Quality Commission rating has been dropped to ‘requires improvement’, after inspectors found potential safety risks and a disconnect between board and ward.

A highly critical report on University Hospitals Sussex Foundation Trust also downgraded its well-led rating to “inadequate” and recommended the trust be placed in segment four – the bottom tier – of NHS England’s system oversight framework. Its main tertiary centre – the Royal Sussex County Hospital – was also rated “inadequate”, including for safety.

Deanna Westwood, Care Quality Commission’s director of operations in the South, said “staff and patients were being let down by senior leaders, especially the board, who often appeared out of touch with what was happening on the wards and clinical areas and it was affecting people’s care and treatment”.

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Source: HSJ,12 May 2023