CQC - Care Quality Commission

04/27/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/27/2021 04:02

CQC inspectors find improvements are needed at The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust’s urgent and emergency services

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has told The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust that it must make significant improvements to the emergency department at The Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex.

A focused inspection of the urgent and emergency service was carried out on 14 February due to concerns raised with the commission about the quality of services and patient safety.

Following the inspection, the trust was issued with a warning notice due to concerns found regarding patients not being appropriately risk assessed on arrival at the department and infection prevention and control guidance not being followed in all areas.

As a result of the inspection, the overall rating of the urgent and emergency service has changed from Requires Improvement to Inadequate. The ratings for the safe and well-led domains of this service also moved from Requires Improvement to Inadequate. The overall trust rating remains unchanged as Requires Improvement.

Bernadette Hanney, CQC's Head of Hospital Inspection, said:

'When inspectors visited the urgent and emergency service at The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, it was clear that staff supported one another to deliver patient focused care in challenging circumstances.

'However, there were areas where significant concerns were found. Inspectors were informed that there were not enough staff to keep patients safe and the department was heavily reliant on bank and agency staff.

'People could not always access the service promptly. Waiting times from referral to treatment and arrangements to admit, treat and discharge patients were worse than national standards.

'Staff did not appropriately manage risks to safeguard patients presenting with mental ill health. We were told that security staff had supported a mental health patient with showering. This was particularly concerning because no risk assessments had been completed and there were no assurances that they were trained to support a patient in this way.

'Inspectors reported their findings to the trust leadership and asked them to send us a report outlining what action they will take to meet these requirements. We are pleased that since the inspection, the trust has already started to make positive changes and improvements across the service. We will continue to monitor the service to ensure the necessary improvements are made.'

Following the inspection, the trust must ensure the following improvements are made:

  • Risk assessments for patients attending the department must be completed in a timely way
  • All staff must comply with infection prevention and control guidance to minimise the risk of infection
  • The out of hours endoscopy process must be embedded and understood by all appropriate staff
  • Risk assessments for patients presenting with a mental health crisis must be completed in a timely way in order to identify and mitigate any risks to patient and staff safety

Full details of the inspection are given in the report online here.

Ends

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