Addenbrooke’s ordered to improve after “inadequate” rating

One of the NHS’s best known hospital trusts has been placed in special measures after being judged “inadequate” by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Addenbrooke’s Hospital and the Rosie maternity hospital, has been ordered to make improvements to ensure that care is safe. Inspectors found serious staff shortages, frequently cancelled operations, and long waits for surgery and outpatient appointments.

The regulator also criticised the trust’s board over governance and failure to tackle longstanding problems while praising the “outstanding” quality of the staff’s care. The regulator Monitor, which will oversee a recovery plan, said that the trust was predicting a £64m (€88m; $100m) deficit this year, overspending by £1.2m a week, and lacked adequate financial control.

The trust’s chief executive, Keith McNeil, and …