Northwick Park drops in health ratings (From Harrow Times)

Northwick Park drops in health ratings

12:10am Thursday 16th October 2008 in

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A HEALTH trust in Harrow is “disappointed” with the findings of an annual nationwide report released today.

The North West London Hospitals NHS Trust dropped from “good” last year to “fair” for its quality of services in the latest report from the Healthcare Commission.

Fiona Wise, chief executive of the trust, which runs Northwick Park and Central Middlesex Hospitals, blamed the poor result on new national targets.

She said: “This rating is very disappointing, particularly knowing how hard our staff have worked over the last year to make improvements to services.

“We fully met the commission’s core standards and existing national targets, an improvement on the previous year.

“But our score of fair for new national targets means that we can only achieve an overall rating of fair for quality of services.”

The report covered a vast array of services provided by health trusts across the country, including cleanliness, patient access to information, range of care available, and training for staff.

The trust was rated weak again this year for use of resources, as it continued to recover from financial difficulties and a large deficit, which it is currently paying back.

Ms Wise acknowledged the continuing problems with the trust’s finances, but stressed it has made significant improvements already in its financial management and providing value for money.