Richard Foord MP asks to meet with health bosses about poor local NHS league table ratings

Richard Foord, MP for Honiton & Sidmouth has asked for meetings with local NHS chief executives about the performance of two Devon NHS organisations that have appeared near the bottom of national government league tables, published yesterday.

Devon Partnership NHS Trust narrowly avoided hitting the bottom of the table, being awarded a ranking of 60 out of 61 other similar NHS organisations in England.

South Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust fared poorly among its group, with a rating of 9 out of 10 comparable trusts nationally.

Richard Foord explained: “I have nothing but admiration for the hard-working clinical staff who work in our health service. I hear fulsome praise for the care and the treatment that local people receive from staff who work in the NHS in Devon.

“Yet it is worrying to see that our mental health trust, which also provides learning disability services, has been ranked 60 out of 61 other similar trusts. I see that this is due to a ‘below average’ rating on finance and productivity, and three ‘poor’ rankings for effectiveness and experience of care, patient safety and people and workforce.”

“The provision of patient care is at the very heart of health services. A mental health trust cares for some very vulnerable people, so it’s a worry that patient safety is ranked ‘poor’ in the mental health organisation that covers our county. There was no score at all for ‘access to services’ - which is a concern.”

South Western Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust was ranked as ‘poor’ in three categories out of five, including:  Access to services, patient safety and people and workforce. It scored ‘below average’ in effectiveness and experience of care. Yet it was ranked ‘above average’ in finance and productivity.

Reflecting on the Ambulance Trust data, Mr Foord commented: “It is all very well that our local ambulance trust is doing well on financial matters, given the financial deficit at NHS Devon. I am concerned about how they are arriving at this position however – we know, for example, that they have withdrawn recently from payments to the fire service for co-responders in medical emergencies.

“The rating of ‘poor’ for the South Western Ambulance Trust in three key areas is a huge concern for a service that we rely on every day to save people’s lives.

“I know that my constituents are concerned by this news, so I have asked for meetings with the chief executives of the Devon Partnership Trust and the Ambulance Trust. I look forward to a frank discussion with them - and to raising any issues in Parliament that they need raising.

“Part of an MP’s role is to speak out on behalf of patients – those people who I represent - when performance has been deemed to be less than adequate.”

Richard Foord described as “more encouraging”, news that the Royal Devon Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust is ranked in the upper half (54/134) of hospital trusts nationally. The trust is described as ‘high performing’ for effectiveness and experience of care, and is rated ‘above average’ for patient safety.