Burnley and Blackburn hospitals among ‘worst in country’

The review, by regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC), gave East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust a rating of 1, with the best trusts in the country given a score of 6.

It took into account factors such as death rates, serious errors and patient surveys.

The assessment was carried out as part of the CQC’s new hospital inspection regime.

The programme, launched in the wake of the Stafford Hospital scandal, will see every trust visited and given an official rating of outstanding, good, requires improvement, or inadequate.

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Burnley General and the Royal Blackburn hospitals, was placed in special measures earlier this year after it was found to have some of the highest mortality rates in the country.

Last week, standards at Blackburn’s accident and emergency services were slammed by the CQC. The regulator visited the department after concerns were raised by a whistleblower and found standards surrounding dignity and respect and training were not being met.

Mr Mark Brearley, Trust chief executive, said: “All trusts in special measures have been put in band 1.

“In relation to being in special measures we have a robust action plan in place and report regularly to the NHS Trust Development Agency and our health economy partners as we introduce sustainable improvements which will support us to come out of special measures and demonstrate how we have improved patient experience.”