The Joint Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee will be provided with an update from the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust (SaTH) following a previous meeting on 7 August 2024. The Committee will also receive a verbal report on preparations for the winter period by the areas health and care providers.

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust Progress Update

The Committee has previously investigated the May 2024 Care Quality Commission (CQC) report into SaTH and the June 2024 Channel 4 documentary Dispatches. They will be provided with an update on the Trust's work to address the issues raised, which included concerns about patient safety, equality, and safeguarding. The minutes from the previous meeting on 7 August record that:

The Trust had always required improvement during that period and the focus of that improvement had changed during over time. The main focus had always been on how we manage people who need urgent or emergency care. It was added that there has always been the need to improve care particularly with regards to urgent and emergency care.

Minutes from the previous meeting show that Councillor David Sandbach raised concerns about the number of cardiologists employed by SaTH and that Dr John Jones, Medical Director at SaTH, responded by confirming that:

cardiology was a difficult area to recruit and the service was dependent on locums.

Winter Preparedness

The committee will hear a verbal report from health and care providers on the steps being taken to prepare for winter pressures on the NHS. The meeting documents state that the Committee will use this to:

develop an understanding of the plans and work underway within the Health and Care System to manage the pressures on staff and services during the winter period, and help to ensure that patients can access the services and support they need in the quickest, most suitable, and safest way possible.