Health watchdog closes investigation into hospital

In August last year, the Newbury Weekly News reported that Monitor had launched an enquiry into the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust after it was found to have breached the national A&E quarterly target three times in a 21-month period.
The national target states that 95 per cent of patients should be seen within four hours of arrival.
At the time, Monitor said it was concerned that persistent failures to meet this target could signal wider governance problems at the trust and the regulator opened a formal investigation into whether the trust had breached the conditions of its licence to provide healthcare services.
However, Monitor has now confirmed that it has closed its investigation and would not be taking enforcement action into hospital because the trust was taking the right action and steps to improve how it was run.
Regional director at Monitor, Paul Streat, said: "We have looked very closely at how this trust is being run and we have decided that its management is taking the necessary steps to improve its performance for patients.”
In response to the news, chairman of the trust Stephen Billingham, said: "We are very pleased that Monitor has decided to close its investigation into the trust.
"We recognise that there are still issues to address, and we will continue to work with Monitor."
The regulator added that it would continue to work with the trust to ensure its A&E performance improved and other concerns were addressed.