The Healthcare Commission announced today that it had followed up all 33 English trusts rated "weak" last year for their quality of services.
The Commission’s chief executive, Anna Walker, said it had worked closely with the Department of Health and the strategic health authorities (SHAs) to ensure improvements were taking place and that general lessons were shared.
"The current assessment system has sought to ensure that all NHS trusts are meeting a set of core standards for the first time," said Ms Walker. "These standards cover issues which are really important to patients such as safety and quality of care.
"We have been reassured by the seriousness with which the healthcare organisations and the strategic health authorities have reacted to both our visits and the rating of weak that triggered it.”
The results of the Commission’s annual health check were announced in October last year, rating all NHS trusts in England from "weak" to "excellent" on quality of care and use of resources. Some 33 trusts recorded the lowest rating for quality of care, prompting investigation by the Healthcare Commission.
Ms Walker added: "In future the new health and social care regulator [announced by the DH in October] will have to register trusts that provide healthcare services. Evidence of delivering on core requirements will be a prerequisite for registration. Trusts must be ready for this. They should remember that the regulator will have additional powers to take action against organisations that don't meet these requirements."
Today’s announcement comes as a new year’s assessment gets underway. Trusts will soon be required to submit their declarations for 2007/08, the third year of the Commission’s health check. The results will be announced in October.
The full list of trusts rated "weak" on quality of service in the 2006/07 health check is as follows:
London and South East:
Brighton and Hove City Primary Care Trust
Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust*
Eastern and Coastal Kent Primary Care Trust
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust
Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust*
Surrey Primary Care Trust
Sutton and Merton Primary Care Trust
North
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust*
Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Healthcare NHS Trust
Cumbria Primary Care Trust
Sheffield Primary Care Trust
Central And Eastern Cheshire Primary Care Trust
North Lancashire Primary Care Trust
Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Central
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust
Leicestershire County and Rutland Primary Care Trust
Leicester City Primary Care Trust
Luton Teaching Primary Care Trust
West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust*
East and North Hertfordshire Primary Care Trust
West Hertfordshire Primary Care Trust
Mid Essex Primary Care Trust
Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre NHS Trust*
South West
Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust
Bath and North East Somerset Primary Care Trust
Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust*
Wiltshire Primary Care Trust
Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust*
Cornwall Partnership NHS Trust*
Devon Primary Care Trust
Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust*
*Also rated "weak" for 2005/06 quality of services
The Commission's feedback on the weak trusts can be found at www.healthcarecommission.org.uk