Agenda and minutes

In the event the fire alarm sounds attendees will be advised to evacuate the building via the nearest fire exit and assemble at the Bottle of Notes opposite MIMA.

 The Chair welcomed all present to the meeting and described the fire evacuation procedure.

There were no declarations of interest received at this point in the meeting.

The minutes of the Adult Social Care and Health Scrutiny meeting held on 13 April 2026 were submitted and approved as a correct record.

The Adult Social Care and Health Scrutiny Panel welcomed the opportunity to consider the University Hospitals Tees’ draft Quality Account for 2025/2026.

The Trust’s representatives were in attendance to deliver a presentation outlining the quality of services across University Hospitals Tees (UHT), as well as key priorities, achievements and challenges.  A formal written response, detailing the Panel’s comments and feedback, was required to be submitted to the Trust following the meeting. By way of introduction, the Trust’s representatives set out the purpose of the Quality Account. It was explained that, since their introduction, Quality Accounts had been required by regulators to provide assurance on the quality of services delivered by NHS organisations. Members were advised that, following the formation of University Hospitals Tees (UHT), a single Quality Account was now produced across both South Tees and North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trusts, although some issues remained specific to individual sites. It was highlighted that the Quality Account acted as an important tool to support service development and future strategic ambitions across the group. In addition, Members were informed that the document covered the majority of local hospital services and, in line with national guidance, was shared with scrutiny committees for consideration.

The presentation covered the following areas:

•          Overview of University Hospitals Tees and the development of a single Quality Account.

•          Shared Quality Priorities for 2025/2026 across Patient Safety, Clinical Effectiveness and Patient Experience.

•          Patient Safety, including incident reporting and the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF).

•          Medication Safety and the implementation of electronic prescribing (ePMA).

•          Infection Prevention and Control.

•          Learning from Deaths and Mortality.

•          Clinical Effectiveness and Audit.

•          Patient Experience and Complaints.

•          Mental Health and Vulnerable Groups

•          Urgent and Emergency Care

•          Staff Culture

•          Proposed Quality Priorities for 2026/2027.

In terms of patient safety, Members heard that PSIRF had been implemented across UHT, alongside a unified incident reporting system. Improvements had been made in medication safety through the roll-out of electronic prescribing, with significant reductions in omitted doses and improved monitoring of medication safety.

Infection Prevention and Control remained a key priority, particularly given the challenges associated with the local population, including high levels of deprivation and comorbidities. Work was ongoing to strengthen governance, improve screening, and enhance antimicrobial stewardship. It was also highlighted that a decant ward was utilised to enable wards to be vacated on a planned basis to allow for deep cleaning programmes, supporting improved infection control measures.

Members were informed that work relating to Learning from Deaths continued to be a key focus, with very low levels of deaths judged to be more likely than not attributable to problems in care. Enhanced governance arrangements, including a dedicated mortality lead and improved review processes, had been introduced.

In relation to clinical effectiveness, the Trust continued to utilise national benchmarking tools, including NICE guidance compliance and audit activity, to drive improvements across services.

The Panel heard that patient experience remained positive overall, with Friends and Family  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25/23

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