NHS trust exits special measures after eight years

An NHS trust has exited special measures after showing "substantial and sustained improvement".

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) was placed into special measures in November 2018, following a maternity care scandal and concerns regarding emergency care.

The update, eight years on, comes after a review from NHS England which according to SaTH "recognised the trust has delivered significant, sustained, and demonstrable improvements".

Jo Williams, the trust's chief executive, said she was "incredibly proud of our staff for their hard work and dedication".

The trust was first rated inadequate after an inspection in 2018.

A Care Quality Commission report found the safety of maternity services and urgent and emergency care to be inadequate and said medical care, critical care and end of life care needed improvement.

The inspectors also found the leadership of the hospitals at the time to be inadequate and found improvements which needed to be made in the trust's responsiveness.

Later, in 2022 a final report into maternity services at the trust, led by senior midwife Donna Ockenden, found catastrophic failures may have led to the deaths of more than 200 babies, nine mothers and left other infants with life-changing injuries.

SaTH runs the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, covering about half a million people in Shropshire and parts of Wales.

Over the past eighteen months, SaTH said the trust had "moved up to 96 out of 134 in national league tables" and was the "most improved trust nationally for elective recovery".

They added that "sustainable" progress has been made in maternity and neonatal services, with the trust "on track" to exit the Maternity Safety Support Programme.

Other areas of achievement include an "improved financial performance" and "steady improvement" in cancer referral and treatment waiting times.

The trust added that "there is still much more to do", and that there are "plans in place for continued improvement."

Williams added that exiting special measures marked a "significant milestone on our improvement journey."

She said the trust is "making tangible progress" and is "pleased this has been recognised by NHS England.

"We will continue to listen, reflect, and learn."

Dr Jess Sokolov, who is the regional Medical Director of NHSE Midlands, said that her organisation was "delighted" SaTH had met the milestone.

"The trust would not have been able to deliver such significant improvements without the vision of their new leadership," she added.

"We hope that all their employees are proud of the achievements they have made for patients."

In December, the trust was also awarded £2m from government to improve services as a reward for significantly cutting waiting times.

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