HEALTH bosses have set out how they are tackling a report which calls for improvements following the biggest ever inspection of Oxford’s John Radcliffe hospital.

An action plan submitted to the Care Quality Commission last month addresses “compliance actions” that demanded improvements.

These were identified during the biggest ever inspection of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust sites such as the Churchill Hospital.

This rated the trust “good” overall but found the John Radcliffe “requires improvements” because of staff shortages, lack of beds, poor clinic planning, high bed occupancy and long waiting times.

Actions to address concerns around safe care for A&E, surgical and outpatients include GPs sending patients to wards instead of A&E and quicker transfer to a surgical assessment for less severe cases.

The trust has pledged to ensure at least 95 per cent of patients are seen within four hours at A&E by the end of August following concerns this was “regularly” being missed. It was 91.4 per cent in May.

It has pledged to recruit staff, including 14 midwives, by September, over concerns about “sufficient numbers” of skilled workers. It has also taken steps to install frosted glass in the John Radcliffe triage room because of concerns over privacy.

Steps to meet concerns over “unsafe or inappropriate” care include standardised assessment forms and educating staff about dementia.

A written plan for each midwife and six-monthly feedback sessions for new A&E staff are among actions tackling concerns about support for staff.

Another plan will be submitted to the CQC by the end of the month.

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