nryK{GroupWirral Clinical Commissioning

NHS Wirral Clinical Commissioning Group

Mr L BeddOwS Old Market House

7 weald Drive Hamilton Street

BirkenheadLittle Suttoh wirralEllesmere port cH41 5ALCH66 4yW

Te l :0151 651 0011

11th Apri l 2014

Dear Mr Beddows

I am writing in response to a formal complaint made by yourself in 2011 to NHS WirralPrimary Care Trust regarding the care received by your wife, Mrs Doreen Beddows, whilst inthe care of Elderholme Care Home.

I understand two investigations have been undertaken consisting of an independent review inFebruary 2013 and a further investigation in November 2013. The purpose of the review wasto determine if there was any evidence indicating that the care received by your wife fell belowexpected standards during her residency and review the actions taken by the ContinuingHealth Care service in respect of its commissioning responsibilit ies. Severalrecommendations were identified :-

1. An acknowledgement from the PCT that the care plan for Mrs Beddows should not bealtered, without a formal review of her care needs by the appropriate professionals,and only when a formal review be indicated because there is a change in needidentified

2. A review of the Care Home records at Elderholme to ensure the daily records are beingcompleted in line with the identified care plans of patients

3. A review of the record keeping of the CHC Team and entries on the database

4. Training and development in relation to commissioning responsibilit ies of the PCTand/or CHC Team and the PCT's responsibilit ies concerning the National Frameworkfor NHS Continuing Health Care.

5. An investigation into the response of Elderholme Nursing Home to Mr Beddow'scomplaint. This should include a review of the Home's Complaints Policy.

6. A review of the payments made by Mrs Beddows in relation to her care. lt is clear thatMrs Beddows care needs have not changed since discharge from Wirral Neuro-Rehabiliation Unit. lt is not clear that all care costs have been met by the NHS.

Chair: Dr Phi l JenningsChief Clinical Officer: Dr Abhi Mantoani

A further investigation was completed in November 2013 following discussion with yourselfwhich aimed to:

1. establish that all the recommendations made from the first report had beenacknowledged and identify what actions had been undertaken as a result of thesefindings;

2. examine the complaint processes for all relevant parties involved in relation to thecomplaint made by yourself with regard to your wife's care.

The final report recommended:

o That Wirral CCG write a formal apology to Mr Beddows for the above failings of thepredecessor PCT which undoubtedly contributed to the distress experienced by MrBeddows;

o That Wirral CCG, as commissioner of existing packages of care at Elderholme Carehome, meet with Senior Representatives at Elderholme Care Home to discuss thefindings of this report and agree what action they need to take to resolveMr Beddow's complaint and bring closure.

Please accept my unreserved apology for the failings referred to above which you haveendured since 2008 in trying to sustain the quality of care you expect for your wife.

In particular, as recommended in the enclosed report, we would like to apologise for thefailings of our predecessor organisation, NHS Wirral Primary Care Trust (PCT), and thedistress such failings caused you. We also accept the recommendation that we meet withsenior representatives at Elderholme Care Home to agree what actions we would expect ofthem to bring closure to this issue for you.

We would like to assure you that as the successor NHS organisation to NHS Wirral PrimaryCare Trust (PCT), the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is committed to improving healthby working with patients and public to inform our decisions about the local health services thatare needed to be commissioned from providers of care.

Continuing Healthcare (CHC) is a significant proportion of our overall health budget for thepopulation of Wirral and we are determined to secure the highest quality, best value formoney care that patients and families need.

As the local NHS Commissioner, we will take account of the learning points from yourexperience and progress improvement through increasing our contract monitoring of thosecare providers who deliver Continuing Healthcare to Wirral patients.

This will include quarterly contract monitoring meetings for Care Homes; a requirement onCare Homes to advise the CCG on the number and nature of complaints coupled withevidence of resolution; and we will also seek to establish a robust patient experience systemwhich captures the complete and on-going experience of patients receiving ContinuingHealthcare.

Chair: Dr Phil JenningsChief Clinical Officer: Dr Abhi Mantoani

The CCG has also-established a CHC Forum to which local Care Home providers will beinvited to attend and informally discuss service delivery quality so as to hopefully help avoidmatters escalating to the extent that you have experienced.

I believe this concludes the investigations and response to your complaint, however pleasefeelwelcome to contact me should you have further queries and am happy to advise that youhave the right to refer your complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman ifyou wish. I have enclosed an information leaflet for your attention.

I also hope my response assures you that we will address the recommendations from thisreport with Elderholme Care Home and furthermore that the CCG is committed to listening toand acting upon concerns raised by local residents in the pursuit of high quality local healthservices.

Yours sincerely

- \\*x'14'l \ ^ \ u\ \

Dr Abhi MantganiChief Clinical Officer

Cc Yvonne Lochhead, NHS Cheshire & Merseyside Commissioning Support Unit

Enc.

Final report from investigationsOmbudsman information leaflet

Chai r : Dr Ph i l Jenn ingsChief Clinical Officer: Dr Abhi Mantoani