CQC warns Shrewsbury and Telford hospital trust for third time

The trust runs the Royal Shrewsbury and the Princess Royal hospitals

Another warning has been given to a hospital trust by health watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

It said it had issued a warning to The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust over its medical care, critical care and emergency care services.

The trust's hospitals are already reporting weekly to the CQC and it is subject to a review of baby deaths.

The trust said it had continued efforts to recruit into critical care and emergency areas.

The latest warning letter, the third sent to the trust since August, included concerns about risk assessments for malnutrition and pressure ulcers not being carried out in medical wards, the Health Service Journal (HSJ) said.

It also contained concerns about a lack of consultant cover and appropriately trained nursing staff in an intensive therapy unit and low levels of trained paediatric staff in accident and emergency.

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Last month, it emerged maternity and emergency services at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford had so alarmed inspectors, the trust must report weekly to the watchdog.

And on Saturday an estimated 3,000 turned out to march against its proposed plans to shut the Princess Royal A&E department overnight.

The trust said there were discussions around the possible overnight closure of A&E at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford

Trust medical director Edwin Borman said the CQC's observations on staffing in the critical care and emergency department highlighted what the trust had been saying for three years.

He said: "We know that these services are fragile and this is highlighted by the current discussions... around the possible overnight closure of the A&E department... in Telford."

The medical director said the trust was working with colleagues in Derby to establish a programme to train its own doctors to consultant level.

He also said work to establish recruitment events for nursing "are all showing positive signs" and the number of "avoidable category two ulcers" had gone down.

The CQC said the warning, issued following an inspection in August, required the trust to make improvements.