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Group Wirral Clinical Commissioning

NHS Wi rral Cl i ni cal Commi ssi oni ng Group
Mr L BeddOwS
Old Market House
7 weald Drive
Hamilton Street
Bi rkenhead
Little Suttoh wirral
El l esmere
port cH41 5AL
CH66 4yW
Tel : 0151 651 0011
11t h Apri l 2014
Dear Mr Beddows
I am wri ti ng i n response to a formal compl ai nt made by yoursel f i n 2011 to NHS Wi rral
Primary Care Trust regarding the care received by your wife, Mrs Doreen Beddows, whilst in
the care of El derhol me Care Home.
I understand two investigations have been undertaken consisting of an independent review in
February 2013 and a further investigation in November 2013. The purpose of the review was
to determine if there was any evidence indicating that the care received by your wife fell below
expected standards duri ng her resi dency and revi ew the acti ons taken by the Conti nui ng
Heal th Care servi ce i n respect of i ts commi ssi oni ng responsi bi l i ti es. Several
recommendations were identified :-
1. An acknowl edgement from the PCT that the care pl an for Mrs Beddows shoul d not be
altered, without a formal review of her care needs by the appropriate professionals,
and onl y when a formal revi ew be i ndi cated because there i s a change i n need
identified
2. A review of the Care Home records at Elderholme to ensure the daily records are being
completed in line with the identified care plans
of patients
3. A review of the record keeping of the CHC Team and entries on the database
4. Trai ni ng and devel opment i n rel ati on to commi ssi oni ng responsi bi l i ti es of the PCT
and/or CHC Team and the PCT' s responsi bi l i ti es concerni ng the Nati onal Framework
for NHS Conti nui ng Heal th Care.
5. An i nvesti gati on i nto the response of El derhol me Nursi ng Home to Mr Beddow' s
compl ai nt. Thi s shoul d i ncl ude a revi ew of the Home' s Compl ai nts Pol i cy.
6. A review of the payments made by Mrs Beddows in relation to her care. lt is clear that
Mrs Beddows care needs have not changed since discharge from Wirral Neuro-
Rehabi l i ati on Uni t. l t i s not cl ear that al l care costs have been met by the NHS.
Chai r: Dr Phi l Jenni ngs
Chi ef Cl i ni cal Offi cer: Dr Abhi Mantoani
A further investigation was completed in November 2013 following discussion with yourself
whi ch ai med to:
1. establ i sh that al l the recommendati ons made from the fi rst report had been
acknowledged and identify what actions had been undertaken as a result of these
f i ndi ngs;
2. exami ne the compl ai nt processes for al l rel evant parti es i nvol ved i n rel ati on to the
complaint made by yourself with regard to your wife's care.
The final report recommended:
o
That Wirral CCG write a formal apology to Mr Beddows for the above failings of the
predecessor PCT which undoubtedly contributed to the distress experienced by Mr
Beddows;
o
That Wi rral CCG, as commi ssi oner of exi sti ng packages of care at El derhol me Care
home, meet wi th Seni or Representati ves at El derhol me Care Home to di scuss the
findings of this report and agree what action they need to take to resolve
Mr Beddow' s compl ai nt and bri ng cl osure.
Please accept my unreserved apology for the failings referred to above which you have
endured since 2008 in trying to sustain the quality of care you expect for your wife.
In particular, as recommended in the enclosed report, we would like to apologise for the
fai l i ngs of our predecessor organi sati on, NHS Wi rral Pri mary Care Trust (PCT), and the
distress such failings caused you. We also accept the recommendation that we meet with
senior representatives at Elderholme Care Home to agree what actions we would expect of
them to bri ng cl osure to thi s i ssue for you.
We woul d l i ke to assure you that as the successor NHS organi sati on to NHS Wi rral Pri mary
Care Trust (PCT), the Cl i ni cal Commi ssi oni ng Group (CCG) i s commi tted to i mprovi ng heal th
by worki ng wi th pati ents and publ i c to i nform our deci si ons about the l ocal heal th servi ces that
are needed to be commissioned from providers
of care.
Conti nui ng Heal thcare (CHC) i s a si gni fi cant proporti on of our overal l heal th budget for the
population of Wirral and we are determined to secure the highest quality, best value for
money care that patients and families need.
As the l ocal NHS Commi ssi oner, we wi l l take account of the l earni ng poi nts from your
experience and progress improvement through increasing our contract monitoring of those
care provi ders who del i ver Conti nui ng Heal thcare to Wi rral pati ents.
Thi s wi l l i ncl ude quarterl y contract moni tori ng meeti ngs for Care Homes; a requi rement on
Care Homes to advi se the CCG on the number and nature of compl ai nts coupl ed wi th
evidence of resolution; and we will also seek to establish a robust patient experience system
which captures the complete and on-going experience of patients receiving Continuing
Healthcare.
Chai r: Dr Phi l Jenni ngs
Chief Clinical Officer: Dr Abhi Mantoani
The CCG has al so-establ i shed a CHC Forum to whi ch l ocal Care Home provi ders
wi l l be
invited to attend and informally discuss service delivery quality
so as to hopefully help avoid
matters escalating to the extent that you have experienced.
I bel i eve thi s concl udes the i nvesti gati ons and response to your compl ai nt, however pl ease
feel wel come to contact me shoul d you have further queri es and am happy to advi se that you
have the ri ght to refer your compl ai nt to the Parl i amentary and Heal th Servi ce Ombudsman i f
you wish. I have enclosed an information leaflet for your attention.
I also hope my response assures you that we will address the recommendations from this
report with Elderholme Care Home and furthermore that the CCG is committed to listening to
and acti ng upon concerns rai sed by l ocal resi dents i n the pursui t
of hi gh qual i ty l ocal heal th
services.
Yours sincerely
- \\*x'14'
l \ ^ \ u
\ \
Dr Abhi Mantgani
Chi ef Cl i ni cal Offi cer
Cc Yvonne Lochhead, NHS Cheshi re & Merseysi de Commi ssi oni ng Support Uni t
Enc.
Final report from investigations
Ombudsman information leaflet
Chai r : Dr Phi l Jenni ngs
Chi ef Cl i ni cal Offi cer: Dr Abhi Mantoani