The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published a report following an inspection of the acute services provided by Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust.
CQC carried out an unannounced focused inspection in April, to look at infection prevention and control (IPC), as data showed the trust had experienced an increase in hospital acquired infections, such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and the rate of COVID-19 infections had risen.
The trust provides NHS hospital services for around 900,000 people across Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey and South Buckinghamshire across three main hospitals; Frimley Park in Frimley near Camberley, Heatherwood in Ascot and Wexham Park near Slough.
As this was a focused inspection of IPC procedures at the trust, the service was not rated during the inspection, and the previous ratings remain. The trust is rated good overall, and good for being safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.
Catherine Campbell, CQC’s head of hospital inspection, said:
“I am pleased to report that Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust’s leadership team and IPC teams had the skills and abilities to run the service and manage infection prevention and control. Staff used several systems to manage IPC risks and escalated concerns and issues to reduce their impact.
“However, we did find one or two areas of concern which we have asked the trust to address. Not all staff understood maximum room occupancy numbers and there was inconsistent practice between hospital sites when it came to taking people’s temperatures. In addition, there were two handwashing sinks at Wexham Park Hospital that had damaged wooden splashbacks, which could compromise effective cleaning.
“That said, all staff were committed to continually learning and improving services and leaders encouraged innovation and participation in IPC measures. The trust’s vision and strategy was focused on sustainability of infection prevention and control and it offered IPC training for staff and additional support when needed.”
Full details of the inspection are given in the report published on our website.
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