Colchester General Hospital cleared of deliberately manipulating cancer waiting times
A crisis-hit hospital has been cleared of deliberately manipulating cancer waiting times - with a review finding any failings were the result of managerial incompetence, not corruption.
Colchester Hospital in Essex, which is in special measures and was forced to declare a major incident last month, had been subject to two separate but related inquiries after concerns were raised by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in November last year.
The first looked into alleged manipulation of cancer waiting times while the second focused on claims staff were bullied into changing data so that the hospital appeared to be meeting targets.
While the review published today found no evidence of systematic data manipulation, it did find evidence of poor documentation and record-keeping and identified a number of patients who had experienced sub-optimal care, diagnosis or treatment.
The report said that it was impossible to establish the extent to which patients suffered as a result but there was evidence of clear harm to at least one patient.
Dr Lucy Moore, chief executive of Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust, said she hoped the findings would allow staff to focus on improving services.
She added: "I welcome the publication of this report and I am very pleased there appears to be no evidence of systematic data manipulation at the trust.
"It is important that we now rebuild confidence in the cancer services provided here in Colchester.
"We apologise unreservedly to any of our patients who have suffered delays in treatment or diagnosis or who have received poor care.
"We have scrutinised the care of any patient where we think there might have been imperfect care and the trust is in contact with all of the patients who have suffered significant sub-optimal care.
"We are continuing to work with our health partners to improve the quality of our cancer services."
The retrospective review, commissioned by the trust, look at 822 cancer patients treated at the hospital between 2010 and 2014.
It was launched after the CQC raised "serious concerns" about staff being pressured to change data to make it seem people were being treated in line with national guidelines.
Under national targets, patients with suspected cancer must start their treatment within 62 days of a GP referral. Any patient found to have cancer should start treatment within 31 days, according to the NHS National Operating Framework.
Various specialities at the hospital, particularly those dealing with urology and lower gastrointestinal cancer, were at risk of breaching the required standard and it was alleged that data had been altered to address these concerns.
The report found 16 cases of possible deliberate and inappropriate data entry but the reviewers could not firmly establish intent to deliberately falsify figures.
The East of England Strategic Clinical Network, which reviewed the report, said: "The overarching impression was there was evidence of inaccuracies in the cancer waits data but this was as likely to negatively impact on the trust's performance statistics as enhance them.
"This suggested the issue was one of effectiveness and competence in the cancer management team rather than a deliberate manipulation."
The independent inquiry into bullying and intimidation was commissioned under the instruction of health regulator Monitor, which oversaw the process.
While some staff members had said they felt "pressured" to manipulate data, the report said there had been no systematic culture of bullying.
Adam Cayley, regional director at Monitor, said the report should "bring a very difficult chapter in the history of this trust to a close".
"It is reassuring to find that there is no evidence of staff being bullied into changing cancer data, but it is even clearer that there were serious managerial failures at the trust," he added.
"The new management team at the hospital is already delivering improvements for patients - a process we expect to see continue."
Peter Wilson, the trust's chairman, said: "Although this report found no evidence of a systemic culture of bullying, this trust takes bullying very seriously and will take prompt action wherever and whenever bullying is identified."
The trust said it had made a number of improvements to its cancer services over the last year.
A spokesman said it had also made "significant strides" in improving data collection and handling for cancer patients.
The trust's cancer mortality statistics are now within the normal national range for NHS trusts in England.
Bosses declared a major incident last month - which included cancelling operations and telling patients to stay away from A&E - after CQC inspectors said staff were under strain and patient care was suffering as a result.
The trust has since resumed normal service after reducing the number of beds in its under-pressure Emergency Assessment Unit to allow staff to focus on priority cases.
Click below to watch an interview with Dr Lucy Moore the new Chief Executive of Colchester Hospital: