24 August 2001
Peter Homa, CHI chief executive, said: 'The report recognises that Epsom and St Helier needs to make a serious commitment to improving its clinical governance arrangements.
'The trust is currently forming an action plan in response to our report and this plan must demonstrate clearly what steps will be taken to improve patient care.'
The report slated hygiene levels at the trust's hospitals. Patients complained of filthy wards, and in some there was a strong smell of urine, it said.
It was highly critical of the way the trust was run. 'The management of the trust is defensive in its attitude and staff morale is low as communication systems between the executive team and staff are weak,' the report said.
The trust was formed in 1999 through the merger of the Epsom and St Helier trusts. It runs eight hospitals with 4,167 staff on an annual budget of £182.9m. The hospitals serve about 500,000 people in Epsom, Ewell and Sutton.
The St Helier Hospital was singled out for particular criticism. The report found death rates for patients undergoing emergency surgery were higher than for any comparable hospital in England.
At Epsom Hospital, patients were discharged prematurely due to a lack of nursing staff and beds.
In total, the CHI report made 25 key recommendations for action at the trust.
Trust chairman Jennifer Denning said: 'We know there is a lot to do in getting the trust up to the standards we all want, but there is a strong determination among the staff to get things moving quickly.'
PFaug2001
