NHS ratings slip in Nottingham

ADMINISTRATIVE failings have hit the rating given for the quality of service within NHS trusts in Nottingham.

The Healthcare Commission has given Nottingham City Primary Care Trust and the city's hospitals a "fair" grading in its Annual Health Check.

This compares to last year when the health watchdog rated both the PCT, which manages health services including GPs and dentists, and Nottingham University Hospitals Trust as "good".

Both scored highly in meeting national targets for patient care this year but fell short on "core standards" such as information management.

PCT chief executive Andrew Kenworthy said he would prefer a rating system where administration and patient care were graded separately.

He said: "The indicators of clinical services show Nottingham is in the top band of performance.

"It is disappointing some of the administration we need to get right has had a bearing on our quality of services rating."

The Healthcare Commission rated three of Notts' five NHS trusts as better than last year for the use of their finances.

The hospitals trust received an improved rating of "fair" for financial management after successfully overturning a £6.8m deficit from last year.

But its chief executive, Peter Homa, said more needed to be done to improve areas where its rating was down, such as record keeping.

He said: "We will use the results of the Annual Health Check to help us achieve our long-term ambition of becoming the country's best teaching trust. Our patients and staff deserve nothing less."

Both the city PCT and the hospital trust were inspected by the Healthcare Commission this year after previously carrying out a self-assessment for part of their rating.

The Annual Health Check, now in its third year, rates all NHS trusts either excellent, good, fair or weak.

It says this year's survey is the most comprehensive yet, grading health services against a wide variety of national targets.

Trusts which improved their finance rating were NHS Notts County and Notts Healthcare Trust, which manages mental health services.

NHS Notts County, the trust responsible for services in Notts outside the city boundaries, was rated two grades better than last year for use of resources.

East Midlands Ambulance Service received the same ratings as last year.