University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) has welcomed the report from the independent investigation commissioned by NHS England and Improvement into the Trust’s urology service.
We fully support and accept the findings of the report. At all times the Trust has endeavoured to be open and honest in wanting to establish the truth behind allegations and counter allegations within the urology department.
When reading the report, it is very clear that although the Trust had taken significant action over a period of time to attempt to tackle various concerns that arose, the actions that were taken were not detailed or robust enough to ensure the improvements were sustainable and embedded, and more should have been done.
We would like to apologise to patients and families who have ​experienced any kind of harm or distress caused by the events chronicled in the report. We would also like to assure them and our wider communities that our Trust remains committed to ensuring that the work done over the past two years to improve the service continues and becomes embedded.
We want to thank Mr Duffy and those who raised concerns. We also want to thank Niche Health and Social Care Consulting for their report, and NHS England and Improvement for their support in commissioning the report. They have all helped us to get to where we are today.
We want to thank members of the urology team who in recent years have worked so hard to improve their service. They are a group of incredibly dedicated individuals who are committed to delivering the best possible services to their patients.
At the heart of the Niche report is an investigation into one index case. It is clear that there was a great deal for the service and the Trust as a whole to learn from and my thoughts go out to the family of the person at the centre of that case. we hope this investigation, and our pledge to ensure the learning is embedded into all that we do is some small comfort for the family.
This Trust, and the health and care system, will now continue to work together to ensure that the improvements we have seen continue for many years to come. Part of that will be evidenced in our Safe Today report which looks at a series of metrics providing assurance and reassurance that the service continues to improve. This is monitored regularly not only by the Trust but also by the regional System Improvement Board so that we can all be sure that the service is as safe as possible for our patients, families and colleagues.
Dr David Levy is regional medical director for NHS England-Improvement North West and chair of the System Improvement Board that has been set up to oversee improvements at the Trust: “We are grateful to past and present employees of the Trust, patients and stakeholders who came forward to raise concerns about services within the Urology and Trauma and Orthopaedic departments. Both investigations are clear that the Trust has in the past failed to investigate and respond effectively when complaints and concerns were raised. The Trust is clear in its commitment to continue to make improvements and NHS England-Improvement is working with other partners to provide the additional support needed to ensure improvements are made as quickly as possible and are sustainable.”