Two of the regions hospitals failing
Care Quality Commission carried out unannounced visits to assess treatment of elderly patients
THE John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford and the Great Western Hospital in Swindon are not meeting the needs of elderly patients, according to a report published by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) today (Thursday).
The commission carried out unannounced visits at 100 hospitals to assess quality and safety, and while the inspections have shown evidence of elderly people being mistreated in several hospitals, some failings at hospitals frequented by people living in West Berkshire, North Hampshire and Wiltshire have also been noted in the report.
At the John Radcliffe it was reported that patients were not always getting the respect and nutrition they needed while at the Great Western the nutritional needs of the hospital's elderly patients were also not being met.
The Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, in Basingstoke, was inspected and found to be compliant in both quality and safety standards, but neither the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading nor the West Berkshire Community Hospital in Thatcham were inspected as part of the review.
Opened in 2002, the Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which has over 600 beds, was inspected in April.
The CQC report said: “People at risk of poor nutrition are more likely to be identified as the use of a screening tool has increased. However this is inconsistent across the hospital.
“Staff focus their support on people who are believed to be at risk, and monitor their food and fluid intake. Nutritional care plans are not being developed, and there are shortcomings which affect the quality of service that patients receive.”
Despite overall positive comments about the hospital's staff the commission still had moderate concerns over the hospital's respect and involvement of its elderly patients.
The commission also had minor concerns regarding respect and involvement of its elderly patients at the John Radcliffe, which was inspected in May.
During the commission's visit to the hospital it observed one patient waiting 20 minutes for a staff member to come to their aid after ringing their bell.
The commission also had moderate concerns in respect of the nutritional needs of the patients.
The report said: “Patients have an adequate choice of food and different cultural and dietary requirements are catered for.
“In the last quarter, 85 per cent of stroke patients were screened for swallowing difficulties within 24 hours of admission at the John Radcliffe Hospital. However, we found that fundamental systems were not in place for recording different aspects of nutritional care such as patients' dietary and fluid intake. Malnutrition assessments were not conducted for all relevant patients.”
Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital was inspected in May and the commission's report said: “The majority of patients we spoke to said that their experience had been positive; staff were polite, sensitive to their needs and treated them with respect. They were satisfied with their overall care.
“Most patients are helped and supported to receive adequate nutrition and hydration. Staff are aware of the need to provide assistance to patients to eat and drink. Food and fluid intake is recorded.”
Of those inspected, the CQC found that around 50 per cent of the hospitals needed to do more to ensure that they were meeting people's needs – with 20 of the hospitals visited failing to meet essential standards required by law.
Have you or your relative recently experienced any mistreatment at hospitals in the local region? If so, contact James Williams on (01635) 886633 or email james.williams@newburynews.co.uk
