THE failures at Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals are deeply disturbing but not altogether surprising.

The Care Quality Commission has identified four areas in which the hospitals trust is failing: staffing levels, care and welfare of patients, staff training and assessing and monitoring the quality of its services.

This is not acceptable.

Too often NHS institutions are found to be failing in fields which are bureaucratic standards and could be viewed as not crucial to the delivery of their prime function: the treatment of the sick. But three of these failings directly affect patients.

Waiting times for cancer patients are too long, bed-blocking is a problem, there are not enough staff in maternity and the surgical emergency unit, it is questionable that guidelines are being followed and not enough staff get the training they need.

Unsurprisingly patients were positive towards the treatment they received, which is not inconsistent with the feedback we regularly receive. By and large the medical staff at the ORH facilities are dedicated to their jobs.

But the staff themselves are worried they’re not doing the jobs as they feel they should and that is a big red flag.

The ORH says it is already addressing the problems and we expect the commission will ensure they not only do that but solve them.