INSPECTORS have warned the NHS trust running Hillingdon's hospitals it must improve – or put patients at risk.

The Care Quality Commission has rated the Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as 'requiring improvement' following a five-day inspection in October.

Overall, the trust was rated 'good' at being caring, 'requires improvement' for being effective, responsive and well-led, and 'inadequate' for safety.

In a report, published this wek, inspectors said the trust's workforce was committed and that national waiting time targets for emergency care were being met.

However, the CQC said patients were being put at risk because of failures in systems and processes.

The chief inspector of hospitals, Prof Sir Mike Richards, said: “People are entitled to receive treatment and care in services which are consistently safe, effective, caring and responsive to their needs.

“We will return in due course to check that the improvements we have identified have been made.”

Both of the trust's hospitals were also individually rated as 'requiring improvement'.

At Hillingdon Hospital, services that fell under this category were A&E, medical care, surgery, critical care, maternity and family planning, children’s care, end-of-life care and outpatient services.

Mount Vernon Hospital in Northwood, was similarly rated for its A&E, medical care, surgery and outpatient services.

The CQC identified a number of areas where the trust must make improvements, including ensuring it complies with infection prevention and monitors cleanliness, addresses staff shortages and ensures staff receive all mandatory training, among others.

Hillingdon NHS Trust chief executive Shane DeGaris said it considered the overall rating of ‘requiring improvement’ to be fair.

He said: “The report identifies areas where we need to make improvements and we immediately put plans in place to address these at the time of the inspection. We have made significant progress in delivering the actions in our improvement plan.

“We believe we run safe hospitals. This is evidenced by our good patient outcomes, key quality performance indicators and positive feedback from patients themselves.

The report has helped to identify areas where we need to focus our attention. This will enable us to become a stronger trust that continues to improve services to our patients.”