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divdiv class=story-body readability=38 span class=story-date#13; span class=date14 November 2013/span#13;span class=time-textLast updated at /spanspan class=time06:35 ET/span#13; #13;/span#13;#13; #13;#13;#13; #13; #13; #13; #13; p class=introduction id=story_continues_1A hospital being investigated by police over its cancer waiting times has been placed in special measures./p#13; pHealth regulator Monitor acted after data inaccuracies meant Colchester General Hospital had breached its licence to provide health services. /p#13; pThe discrepancies were uncovered by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which found staff were bullied to alter figures./p#13; pHealth trust chiefs said they would now be helped to make further improvements. /p#13; pHowever, union leaders have called for a change in leadership and said there had been a loss of confidence in the trust's board./p#13; span class=cross-head'Immediate steps'/span#13; div class=story-feature narrow#13; a class=hidden href=#story_continues_2Continue reading the main story/a h2 class=quote“spanStart Quote/span/h2#13;blockquote readability=1p class=first-childThere is a need for a significant change of leadership and we look forward to working with the new regime”/p/blockquote#13;span class=endquoteEnd Quote/span#13; span class=quote-creditTracey Lambert/span#13; span class=quote-credit-titleUnison/span#13;#13; /div p id=story_continues_2The CQC report found staff were pressured or bullied to change information on patients and their treatment to make it seem people were being treated in line with national guidelines. /p#13; pMonitor said its own formal investigation found the trust had breached its licence after the CQC said cancer care at the trust was inadequate./p#13; pIt said it worked with CQC and NHS England to ensure immediate steps were taken to safeguard cancer patients in the care of the trust, to start a review of what had caused the problems and to take action to prevent it happening again./p#13; #13; pNHS England is working with the trust to conduct a review of the cancer services to assure patients that past practices complied with national standards./p#13; pBefore the cancer waiting times inquiry, Colchester hospital had been part of the Keogh Review into trusts with higher-than-average mortality rates and had been put under enhanced scrutiny by Monitor. /p#13; pIt said it stopped short of putting it into special measures then, because the regulator was confident the trust leadership could tackle the issues raised at that stage./p#13; span class=cross-head'Already taken action'/span#13; pHowever, a whistleblower came forward with concerns about the hospital's cancer pathway, which led to the CQC inspection and Sir Mike Richards, the chief inspector of hospitals, recommending the trust be put into special measures./p#13; div class=story-feature wide readability=9#13; a class=hidden href=#story_continues_3Continue reading the main story/a !-- pullout-items--#13; #13; !-- pullout-body--#13; pIt was a fait accompli that Colchester General would be put into special measures./p#13; pThe health and care regulator had already recommended earlier this month that it should, after finding evidence the hospital had tampered with the records of cancer patients to make waiting times look better./p#13; pThe trust becomes the 13th body to face such a sanction this year./p#13; pThe management of the hospital has not been replaced. Instead, bosses will be given a chance to get to the bottom of what has been happening - albeit with officials from outside the trust breathing down their necks./p#13; pBut this is really just the start of the process. /p#13; pReviews are already under way into whether and on what scale patients were put at risk and why the trust did not stop it last year when it carried out an internal inquiry into concerns raised by a whistleblower. /p#13; pPolice are also looking at the issue. It promises to be a long road to redemption for Colchester./p#13; #13; !-- pullout-links--#13; ul class=links-listlia href=/news/correspondents/nicktriggle/Read more from Nick/a/li#13; /ul/div p id=story_continues_3Monitor regional director Adam Cayley, said: The trust has been given an explicit set of actions to improve the service it offers patients. /p#13; pWe will be monitoring progress closely and we will not hesitate to take further regulatory action if required./p#13; pThe leadership of the trust will be reviewed as part of our scrutiny of the trust's governance arrangements and, if necessary, further regulatory action will be taken./p#13; pHealth trust chief executive Dr Gordon Coutts added that it had already taken action and its priority was the safety and well-being of patients. /p#13; pThe additional advice and support that we will receive as a result of the announcement by Monitor will help us to make the improvements that are needed quickly and effectively, he said. /p#13; pPairing us with another Trust will also provide the opportunity to have a fresh pair of eyes to look at our services./p#13; pUnison had said its members told executive directors last year they were being bullied into falsifying data, but the matter was not dealt with./p#13; pIts regional head of health, Tracey Lambert, added: The trust board has lost the confidence of patients and the public in north-east Essex and people want to see strong, positive action to improve health care at the hospital./p#13; pThere is a need for a significant change of leadership and we look forward to working with the new regime./p#13; /div/divbrbrcentera href=http://www.wizardrss.comPowered By WizardRSS.com/a | a href=http://www.wizardrss.comFull Text RSS Feed/a | a href=http://www.amazon.com/RFID-Blocking-Cards-Identity-Protector/dp/B00CJHZLEWRFID/a | a href=http://www.wpzonbuilder.comAmazon Affiliate/a/center