Russells Hall Hospital's reputation nearly beyond recovery, says scrutiny bosses

That was a borough councillor's damning indictment of the standard of care at Russells Hall Hospital, after he watched his father 'go through hell' before being given superior treatment elsewhere.

Councillor Richard Body delivered his shocking assessment of the crisis-ridden hospital as Dudley Council's health scrutiny committee grilled under fire health bosses over A&E department failings.

The heated meeting saw Dudley Group NHS Trust Hospital chief executive Diane Wake told it was 'too late for many people' who had suffered as a result of poor care at the hospital.

Ms Wake – who has insisted she is the best person to turn the hospital's fortunes around – was also warned that if Russells Hall's reputation deteriorated any further it would be unable to recover.

It follows a Care Quality Commission inspection which again rated the emergency department ‘inadequate’, and an independent probe into the deaths of up to 54 patients in the first six months of this year.

At the meeting Ms Wake presented her plan to improve the department's 'inadequate' CQC rating as scrutiny bosses raised serious concerns over the treatment of patients and spoke of their own harrowing experiences.

Mr Body said: "I watched my dad go through hell before he died.

"He went into Russells Hall Hospital with a head trauma but he was left in an ambulance for over an hour before he finally got into an ordinary ward in the evening where he stayed for three weeks and went down hill.

"He was rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham and had an operation the next day before being moved to the critical care unit.

"He had fantastic care there which kept him alive and gave him a chance but he moved back to Dudley where the care was totally terrible, awful and dreadful.

"He died recently and I heard about others who begged to moved their family members out of the hospital and I should have fought for him to not be there."

Chair of the committee, Councillor Melvyn Mottram, whose wife died of sepsis in the hospital three years ago, said: "It is too late for many people. It should not have been bad before."

Councillor Julie Baines said: "There was a national crisis in the health service.

"But if the reputation of this hospital deteriorates anymore, it will not be able to recover."

In response Ms Wake said: "What you have described is not acceptable care. I am happy to have more details to look into cases. It is important that we learn about the care patients are receiving."

Since the inspection report Dudley Group NHS Trust has brought in an extra five A&E consultants at Russells Hall, invested in nursing staff, while A&E employees have been re-trained in how to spot the signs of sepsis and manage patients who have the condition.

She added: "We have some absolutely fantastic services that are doing so well including our stroke services which is one of the best in the country.

"I am absolutely committed to working with clinical teams to ensure patients are safe in our care. As a team and a board we have been disappointed with the pace of change."

An update on the service is due to be presented to the council in six months.