Sir – A leading clinician advised Keep The Horton General (KTHG) that the Oxford University Hospitals Trust is ‘immoral’ in its reporting of the serious issues highlighted in the recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) report ref JR. These should be communicated publicly, not glossed over as per trust press releases.

CQC reported: “Bed occupancy within the hospital was so high that it was having an impact on the quality of care, with A&E failing to meet national targets to admit, transfer or discharge patients within four hours.

“Inspectors were told that operations were regularly cancelled due to lack of theatre capacity, shortage of staff or inefficient planning. In outpatients, there were not enough appointments to meet demand and clinics were overbooked, causing long waiting times and late cancellations.

“Shortages of staff within the maternity department, surgical wards and operating theatres meant that staff were not able to provide the best care at all times.

“At the JR, the inspectors found that both A&E and surgery needed to improve.

“The trust must plan/deliver care safely and effectively to people requiring emergency, surgical and outpatient care. There must be enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff to safely meet people’s needs at all times.”

Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Michael Richards, commented: “There are high [staff] vacancy rates in the surgical wards and theatres, leading to the cancellation of operations and long waiting times in places. At the same time, the trust is running at high capacity, at levels which can start to affect the quality of care and the orderly running of the hospital.”

The Banbury Horton Hospital raised few concerns, so why are the Oxford trusts terminating services in Banbury, transferring them to Oxford? Emergency general surgery, Fiennes Psychiatric Clinic Inpatients, and the highly regarded Rowan Ward geriatric rehabilitation service withdrawn since January 2013.

Keith Strangwood, Chairman, Keep The Horton General, Horley