The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published a report following a focused inspection of acute and rehabilitation services at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust looking at infection prevention and control (IPC).
Inspectors visited Sunderland Royal Hospital and the community intermediate care assessment and rehabilitation (ICAR) unit in March. This was in response to concerns regarding IPC practices.
Inspectors observed IPC measures and spoke with staff and patients. They visited the emergency department, emergency assessment unit, the ICAR inpatient unit and two wards, one of which was a COVID ward. They also observed public areas and the staff canteen to check social distancing practices were being followed.
Due to the focus of the inspection, the overall rating of Sunderland Royal Hospital did not change and remains as Requires Improvement and the ICAR unit remains as Good. The trust’s overall rating remains as Good.
CQC’s north east head of hospital inspection, Sarah Dronsfield, said:
“When inspectors visited Sunderland Royal Hospital and the intermediate care assessment and rehabilitation (ICAR) unit, it was encouraging to find that staff felt respected, supported and valued and that there was an open culture where staff could raise any concerns without fear.
“Inspectors found that the infection prevention and control team had limited capacity to support community locations. However, the trust leadership recognised this issue and have put a plan in place to make improvements.
“The trust also needs to improve the screening of staff and visitors on arrival at community locations to help keep people safe.”
Full details of the inspection are given in the report published online here.
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