As a result of the critical Care Quality Commission (CQC) report, NHS England is to lead a team of cancer specialists to ensure the safety of cancer patients at Colchester Hospital University Foundation Trust.

The work will look at whether current services for cancer patients comply with safety guidelines and will delve into past patient records in more detail than the CQC report to find out whether further problems come to light.

Formerly known as the NHS Commissioning Board, NHS England is the new body that leads the NHS in England. It saw a draft of the CQC report in early October and since then has hosted two risk summits bringing together representatives from the Colchester Hospital NHS Trust, the North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group and key clinical professional bodies. Their remit was to better understand the implications of what has happened and by working together what can be done to ensure the safety of patients using these services at Colchester Hospitals.

A spokesman said: “NHS England is working closely with the North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group to ensure that Colchester Hospitals NHS Trust provides safe services and that this cannot happen again. It is essential that current practice at the trust is compliant with national standards.”