HEALTH chiefs at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital will meet this week to discuss a plan of action following the Care Quality Commission’s controversial health report.

It is the first board of directors’ meeting since the CQC’s investigation hit the headlines last month.

Chief executive Tony Spotswood and director of nursing Paula Shobbrook, are due to give a presentation to the board on Friday about their action plan.

Hospital bosses have stressed that they have already made many improvements over the past few weeks since the report was published on December 18.

Paula Shrobbrook, director of nursing, said: “57 newly qualified nurses are now working on our wards and we have been building new ward teams. We are absolutely focused on building upon, and maintaining the improvements we have made.”

Basil Fozard, medical director, said: “In 20 years as a surgeon at this hospital, I know our staff want to deliver good care and we have many areas of excellence. The challenge now is how we get the basics right for every individual patient, every time and deliver excellent care across all areas.”

Chief executive Tony Spotswood added: “We have put in place a number of changes in relation to staffing and care of the elderly. We are already beginning to see a number of improvements come to fruition.”

Other items on Friday’s agenda include reports on the Trust’s quality and financial performance. The meeting will be followed by a board seminar on the CQC report.

The inspectors are due to return to RBH for a further review within three months of the Trust submitting a final action plan which is expected to be around early April.

PANEL: The CQC team found that children’s care, midwifery, critical care and end of life care services at the hospital were good.

However medical care, including older people’s care was inadequate with “widespread and significant negative views from patients and staff.”

Other services in need of improvement, included accident and emergency, surgical services and outpatients.

In some areas, care was not always safe, doctors and nurses did not feel supported at times and on some medical wards, frail patients were “at risk of harm.”

Staff told the inspectors that staffing levels on surgical wards at night “were not safe” and there was a risk of cross infection in outpatients.