Thursday 17 July 2014

Stephen Metcalfe MP and Secretary of State congratulate Basildon Hospital staff in House of Commons

Local MP Stephen Metcalfe, and Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt MP, rose on the floor of the House of Commons recently to praise Basildon Hospital for the progress it has made since it was placed into special measures.

The chief inspector and Monitor have confirmed that Basildon and Thurrock NHS Foundation Trust can leave special measures with no further support. Both Mr Metcalfe and Mr Hunt highlighted the inspired leadership of Chief Executive, Clare Panniker, who has overseen this process.

In addition to employing an additional 241 nurses, the hospital has now received a ‘good’ rating with its maternity unit the first in the country to be rated “outstanding”.

The Secretary of State joined Mr Metcalfe in congratulating the management team and all staff at Basildon Hospital who have worked hard to turn the hospital around and confirmed that the Government will continue to support the hospital as it strives to make further improvements.

He also suggested that people will want know why it is that when there was a CQC report under the previous Government, it was sat on for six months and nothing was done. 

Mr Metcalfe commented: “Unlike the previous Government, this Government has faced up to the issues at Basildon Hospital and tackled them head on. The results speak for themselves. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of staff at every level at the Hospital, we have seen substantial positive change and I have every confidence that this will continue.”