The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published a report on medical care (including older people’s care) provided by Royal United Hospital Bath, part of Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust, following an inspection in August.
The inspection was prompted following concerns received about the safety and quality of the medicine core service.
This was a focused inspection and does not impact on the overall rating for medical care service which remains good overall.
Royal United Hospitals Bath remains good overall and for being safe, effective and well led. Caring remains outstanding and responsiveness remains requires improvement.
Catherine Campbell, CQC head of hospital inspection, said:
”During our inspection of Royal United Hospitals Bath, our inspectors found that staff on the front line were doing their utmost to provide safe and effective care and treatment of patients. This was despite additional pressures in departments where there was a shortfall in the number of permanent staff available. The trust did however, make sure that that in those wards where extra staff were needed, bank or agency staff were used after having a comprehensive induction.
“Generally, we found staff providing excellent care, although, some team members didn’t always know how to support people who lacked capacity to make their own decisions or were experiencing mental ill health. We did raise this to the trust leadership team following the inspection. They took immediate action and have provided us with a comprehensive action plan which clearly addresses all concerns we raised.
“We continue to monitor the service closely and will be returning to find what improvements have been implemented.”
Findings from the inspection included:
Staff took time to interact with patients and those close to them in a respectful and considerate way. On one ward a health care assistant was playing card games and sharing jokes with patients. Patients were positive about having the extra time and said it helped them to stay alert and maintain some humour during their stay.
Patients said they felt listened to by ward staff and they knew how to seek help if they needed it. Inspectors observed a therapy session where a patient was reassured and encouraged by the staff member to build and maintain their independence while on the ward.
Staff had a good knowledge of the services available within the hospital but also the wider community. Staff were observed sign posting family members to other services that could provide them with additional support.
Staff used a nationally recognised tool to identify deteriorating patients and highlighted issues appropriately.
People’s personal, cultural, social, and religious needs were under stood and respected. Feedback from people who accessed and used the service was consistently positive. Patients and their families said staff were caring and attentive and went over and above to make sure they had what they needed