THE authority which manages Solihull Hospital is the 106th worst out of 144 in England for patient safety, a report says.The Dr Foster Good Hospital Guide ranked Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust after studying death rates.
The trust told Dr Foster it is “one of the highest performing in UK”.
The report includes a stinging criticism of care by Hockley Heath resident Jenny Morgan, 58, who was left with speech and balance problems because of stroke care failings.
She suffered a stroke last November and could not speak or walk. The GP told her to go to Solihull Hospital and called staff there.
She spent 90 minutes in A&E and eventually left.
She said: “I thought I was going to die and decided I would rather do it at home.”
Mrs Morgan returned to hospital where she had a scan which showed she had suffered a stroke.
But the report says: “Although the results confirmed she had suffered a stroke, she was told that the Solihull stroke unit was full.
“There were no beds and she was told to go home.”
“Drug treatment was not started for a further three weeks – too late to prevent permanent damage – and she did not see a specialist stroke consultant until March 2009.”
She now has speech and balance problems and can no longer work in the family music shop business.
She said: “I was told that, as I was not admitted when I came into A&E, I wasn’t counted as a stroke patient.
“I have complained to the hospital chief executive, but I was just told that they were busy that
day.”
The trust was rated "fair" for the quality of its services at the last "annual health check" by the Care Quality Commission, the official regulator.
