The Care Quality Commission’s ( CQC) report highlighting failings in the treatment of cancer patients at Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust is the third time the organisation has come under scrutiny this year.
Only last month, the Commission found it to be among the top quarter of trusts in the UK generating the most serious level of concern, and reported there were higher than expected death rates across its hospitals.
Earlier this summer, the Colchester Hospital NHS Trust was also part of the high-profile Keogh Review into patient care and was instructed to make improvements in key areas.
It was during the Keogh Review that the team conducting the inquiry was made aware of concerns about the treatment of some cancer patient records by a whistle-blower during a visit on June 4 and 5. These concerns were passed to the CQC, who made six visits between August 27 and September 27 this year.
A spokesman for NHS England said: “The decision to not put Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust into special measures [at the time] was taken based on the evidence available at the time and on the action plan provided by the trust following the review. It is for Monitor, the regulator, to consider the intervention it may wish to make in light of the new information available with the publication of the CQC’s report.”
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