Leadership at Mid &South Essex NHS Foundation Trust (MSEFT, The Trust), which runs our hospitals at Broomfield, Basildon & Southend, has been rated inadequate after staff morale was found to be among the lowest in the country, there were “persistent” safety failures and it had a poor behavioural culture. Inspectors visited the Trust in May.
We have asked the Non-Executive Directors (NEDS) and Governors of the Mid & South Essex NHS Foundation Trust why they didn’t identify and address the inadequacies of the Trust’s Leadership before it took CQC to find it and if they are now considering their positions? This is another finding and report by CQC of inadequacies in this Trust. It seems that the NEDS, Governors and the Senior Leadership Team have been consistently negligent in their care for the patients of the Trust. We are also cogniscent of the oversight role of Mid & South Essex ICB.
“Staff across all three hospital sites told [CQC] they felt disconnected from senior leaders, undervalued and unable to raise concerns without fear.” “Many described a culture where poor behaviours went unchallenged and where financial pressures were perceived to take priority over quality and safety.”
- Only 65% of mandatory reviews of deaths in its care were completed on time
- Staff engagement and morale were among the lowest in the country
- The trust was among the worst-performing nationally for ambulance handover delays and cancer waiting times
- A new operating model introduced in November 2024 was causing confusion about roles, responsibilities and accountability
However, CQC said the Trust recognised the challenges it faced and leaders showed awareness of the improvements needed.
This is of significant concern to Mid & South Essex Integrated Care Board (the ICB) as the primary commissioner of services at the Trust. The ICB is working alongside the Trust, and other regulators to seek assurance regarding improvement actions being put in place to resolve concerns identified by the CQC, alongside identifying support the ICB can provide to MSEFT in their improvement work.
Trust Chief Executive Dawn Scrafield said: “We are deeply sorry for having failed our patients and staff. We know that they deserve better from us. “We understand the depth of people’s concerns. We fully accept the findings of the report and are committed to bringing about the improvements needed as quickly and sustainably as possible. We will ensure that the quality of our services improves at pace and will work with our staff, patients and partners to achieve this.”
“We have begun to make the changes needed with a detailed improvement plan supported by a new organisational structure which will simplify the way in which we operate to clarify roles and accountabilities. Our new operating model will strengthen clinical leadership across the Trust and equip our hospitals to deliver high quality care. We will support our leaders and ensure that we all work together to develop a culture of compassion, respect and excellence.”
The Trust’s Board will meet in public from 1130 on 11 December 2025, in the Seminar Room at Southend hospital. Anyone wishing to attend should contact mse.board.committeepapers@nhs.net for an invitation and more information.
The long-awaited independent report into how well or badly the government handled the Covid pandemic has been published, external.
Chairwoman Baroness Hallett said the UK’s response could be summarised as “too little, too late”. Here are some of the main findings:
Lockdown could have been avoided completely.
But lockdown a week earlier could have saved thousands of lives.
‘Chaotic’ UK government with key figures criticised.
Lockdowns left ‘lasting scars’.
Politicians breaking rules undermined public confidence.
Devolved governments relied too much on UK.
How could the UK have done better? The report gives a long list of recommendations, including:
- To establish structures to improve communication between the four nations during an emergency.
- Improve consideration of the impact decisions might have on people – both by the illness and the steps taken to respond to it.
- Create expert groups to advise on economic and social implications, not just the science.
- Ensure decisions – and their implications – are clearly communicated to the public.
- Enable greater parliamentary scrutiny of emergency powers.
The government doesn’t have to adopt the inquiry’s recommendations, but it must respond to them, which could shape future policies. The inquiry has already reported back on other aspects (modules) of the pandemic and there are more to follow.
Another Resident Doctors’ strike for five-days has finished. It inflicted “pain and misery” on patients according to the Health Secretary. It was reported that more resident doctors chose to work this time. Nevertheless, it’s estimated this strike will cost £240m as it’s expected to have caused significant disruption, particularly in hospitals. One patient after a third cancellation for the removal of a benign tumour is quoted as being furious. “By striking they ignore the Hippocratic Oath – first and foremost do no harm”. These strikes must stop. Patients on long waiting lists must be prioritised, along with reducing NHS pressures. Do the Resident (sic) Doctors have public support?
Before the strike started, the NHS waiting list was 230,000 lower than July last year, as the health service also faced A&E and ambulances experiencing record demand aheadof winter. The overall waiting list for September was 7.39 million (an estimated 6.24 million patients) down 15,845 compared to the previous month and 230,000 fewer than July 2024. Figures also show the NHS is the busiest it has ever been heading into winter, ahead of damaging industrial action and a likely spike in flu cases in the coming weeks.
In response the NHS has upped the ante on its flu vaccination programme, with 14.4 million flu vaccines delivered so far this autumn (14,419,345) – over 160,000 more than at the same point last year (14,253,063 week ending 10 November 2024).
The NHS has taken a different approach to winter this year – planning earlier than ever before and stress-testing services against 3 stages – preparation, staying ahead and response. Patients are set to get better access to their GPs thanks to a government investment of an extra £1.1 billion in general practice this year – the biggest funding increase in a decade.
A&E attendances and ambulance incidents were both a record for October. A&E attendances were 37,000 higher than October 2024 (2.36 million). This equates to over 1,200 more attendances per day this October. Ambulance incidents also jumped nearly 50,000 compared with October last year (806,441).
Despite the pressure, average ambulance response time for emergencies including strokes and heart attacks was almost 10 minutes faster than in October 2024 (32 minutes 37 seconds).
Health leaders are warning that NHS services and jobs will be cut unless £3bn more is allocated by the Chancellor in the Budget tocover unexpected costs,including the costs of redundancies and strikes, and paying more for medicines. The Treasury has now agreed to pay staff redundancy costs as 18,000 administration and managerial jobs are cut as the NHS and Department of Health and Social Care are merged. The immediate costs will be recouped in future savings.
Age UK has urged the government to get a grip on long A&E waits. The plea comes in a report detailing “heartbreaking” stories of how older people are suffering, spending hours in corridors and side-rooms. It highlights cases of people being left in their own excrement, having blood transfusions and even dying in these make-shift treatment areas. Older people were much more likely to experience long waits, with data showing one in three over 90s attending A&E in England last year faced a 12-hour wait or more. The government said the situation was unacceptable, but added it was taking action.
Data for week 44 (10-16 November) shows:
- influenza activity continues to increase; it showed mixed trends and continues to circulate at low levels after an unusually early start to the flu season.
- COVID-19 activity decreased and is circulating at baseline levels.
- respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity increased but is still at baseline levels.
- Norovirus activity increased and is now circulating at low levels; it is higher than average for this time and is highest among children aged 0-4 years.
Shocking new childhood obesity figures highlight the urgent need for preventative action to create the healthiest generation of children ever. Government “won’t look away as kids become unhealthier”, as they push through preventative plans to reverse childhood obesity rates with support at school, in the playground and at home. A package of measures, including restrictions on junk food advertising, expanding free school meals and the universal free breakfast clubs will promote healthier eating and increase physical activity. Data shows that while the majority of children remain a healthy weight (75.4% in reception, age 4 to 5 years, and 62.2% in year 6, age 10 to 11 years), 10.5% of children in reception and 22.2% of year 6 children are living with obesity. Excluding the pandemic peak, this is the highest obesity prevalence seen in reception since measurements began in 2006-2007.
The winter flu season has begun five weeks earlier than usual and the UK is facing a long, tough drawn-out flu season, the NHS boss is warning. The new flu virus mutation could see the ‘worst season in a decade’. So the NHS has now issued a “flu jab SOS” as fears grow that this will add up to a brutal winter. There’s “no doubt” this winter will be one of the toughest the health service has faced. Lots of vulnerable people are still to be vaccinated to get protected. Those eligible for the free vaccine are urged to come forward quickly for it. The NHS is calling on eligible adults to get their jab as soon as possible to stamp out the early wave of flu hitting the NHS more than a month earlier this year, with cases triple the same time last year. More than 13 million people have been vaccinated so far this year, but that is still more than 5 million below the number who were jabbed last winter. The thought of a long, drawn-out flu season has kept the NHS Chief awake at night. Unfortunately, it looks like that fear is becoming reality.
“Australia has just endured its worst flu season on record — over 410,000 cases — and all the signs suggest the NHS will face similar challenges in the months ahead. From December through to March, our hospitals will be at capacity.” Flu cases are rising quickly among children and young people – and will soon spread across older age groups. People eligible for the flu vaccine should get protected. Last year nearly 8,000 people died from flu and in 2022-23 there were nearly 16,000 deaths.
In the “biggest change to sexual health services since the 1960s”, the oral emergency contraception pill (Morning After Pill) will be available for free to women from almost 10,000 pharmacies across the country without needing to see their GP or get an appointment at a sexual health clinic.
Vaccination crucial as meningitis cases increase. Latest data reveals 378 cases of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) were confirmed in 2024-25. Children and young adults, particularly university students, remain at risk. Whilst meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia are rare, they can be devastating, life changing and sometimes deadly. Two vaccines protect against the main causes of meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia. The MenB vaccine is offered to infants at 8 weeks, 12 weeks and one year of age, as part of routine NHS vaccinations. The MenACWY vaccine protects teenagers against four strains and is usually given in school Year 9 (aged 13 to 14). All teenagers remain eligible for the MenACWY jab until their 25th birthday, so they can get the vaccine if they missed out at school.
Brand-new Thurrock Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) is open, offering faster, local, vital tests and scans for thousands of local residents, without needing to go to hospital. This state-of-the-art facility will deliver 75,000+ additional diagnostic appointments every year, significantly reducing waiting times and supporting faster diagnosis for patients. Other planned CDC sites include Southend (late 2025), Braintree (2026) and Pitsea (2026/27).
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