TWO health bosses resigned today as a damning report slated their running of a hospital.

An inquiry into levels of care at Eastbourne District General Hospital was ordered after the deaths of two patients on wards.

The report, published today, identified "serious concerns over management style and levels of nursing care."

As the findings were made

public, the chairman of the Eastbourne Hospitals NHS Trust, John Barkshire, and chief executive Clive Uren announced their resignations.

Key problems identified in the report, Review of Nursing at Eastbourne Hospitals NHS Trust, include:

l Serious concern and lack of confidence in the style of leadership and management of the trust.

l The loss of public confidence and serious damage to the reputation of the NHS in Eastbourne.

l The quality of clinical practice.

l Ineffective management of serious untoward incidents and

complaints.

The review team, headed by Ray Greenwood, director of

nursing for the South East regional office of the NHS Executive, carried out surveys of both staff and local people during its inquiry.

Mr Greenwood said: "The team was consistently told by staff at

all levels that they had lost

confidence in the leadership and senior management of the trust.

"Top management was said to be unwilling to listen, complacent, not able to accept that problems existed, or that things were better elsewhere.

"They were described as 'autocratic, centralist and unwilling to truly involve clinicians in management or to devolve any responsibility to them'."

Nursing shortages were

highlighted at the inquests held this year on two patients who died on wards.

Marjorie Dyer, 85, of

Eastbourne, died after choking on her lunch. Nurses failed to

revive her after mixing up her notes with those of another patient.

And Pauline Freeman, 54, of Little Common, Bexhill, died after undergoing a routine hysterectomy on a ward which had only a qualified nurse and three auxiliaries.

But today's report said although there was a nursing shortage, staff at the hospital were very

committed. It blamed poor management for not recruiting enough skilled staff.

The report says: "The shortage of trained staff on these heavily dependent wards means that support staff cannot be properly supervised and it is inevitable they will undertake inappropriate duties.

"There seems to be confusion in the minds of managers about the role of registered nurses and support staff.

"It seems that staff are considered to be interchangeable and that pairs of hands rather than skills and qualifications are the priority. This gives rise to serious concerns about the consequences."

An action plan will be put in place after a number of changes recommended in the report. It will include improving communications between management, staff and the public in a bid to rebuild confidence.

As a result of the resignations Anne Bolter, who was due to take over as chairman later in the year, has been appointed to the post immediately. Alan Randall, currently chief executive with Worthing and Southlands NHS Trust, will take over as acting chief executive.

The trust has pledged action. A spokesman said: "We greatly regret the circumstances that have led to the need for this review and the distress and very real concerns felt by the individuals directly affected, the community at large and our staff.

"We recognise the issues to be addressed and will do everything in our power as a board to work in partnership with the public, whom we serve, our staff and other organisations to restore confidence."

However, outgoing chairman Mr Barkshire was critical of the report and insisted his departure was as a protest.

He said: "The report is inaccurate, containing mistakes of fact and unsubstantiated opinion. It fails to mention the lack of funding which is the fundamental cause of problems at our hospital and many others throughout the country."

Catastrophic

The deaths of Mrs Freeman, in March, 1998, and Mrs Dyer, in October, 1998, were not immediately reported to the health authority.

It was not until this summer, after extensive media coverage, that

formal reports were presented to the trust board.

Mrs Freeman's husband Roy said today: "I'm delighted with this report. It is some consolation to know that at last some good may come out of my wife's tragic death.

"This hospital has serious problems which were plain to see. They could have acted before and avoided getting to this stage."

Eastbourne MP Nigel Waterson, said: "This is an excellent report. Now the hospital faces the important task of carrying out changes.

"What amazed me most was that the deaths of Mrs Dyer and Mrs Freeman were not investigated immediately."

Norman Baker, MP for Polegate, said: "It's a catastrophic failure in not providing basic care. Perhaps now we can have a fresh start."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.