Birmingham Children's Hospital fails to meet improvement targets

The Care Quality Commission's predecessor body the Healthcare Commission criticised the trust for failing to meet rising demands for its services, which led to delays in treatment and redirecting children to other services.

In its latest report, released this week, the CQC said the trust had met in full six of the 12 recommendations through improvements to its management team, staff training and making services more accessible.

But it still has work to do on the remaining six recommendations. Inspectors found there were still delays in admitting neurosurgery and liver patients, and they were critical of the trust for still not properly monitoring data around delays in admissions.
 
Andrea Gordon, West Midlands regional director for CQC said: "Birmingham Children's Hospital faces real challenges in meeting the rising demand for services. That's why it is so important for it to work effectively with neighbouring trusts to manage demand and ensure children receive urgent specialist care when they need it.

"There is no question that the trust has made significant progress, particularly in the way it works with University Hospitals Birmingham and in providing more staff for some specialist services. But there is more to do in managing capacity and improving the way it prioritises children needing urgent surgery."