The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has revisited Rotherham General Hospital to assess whether improvements have been made to the care and treatment provided to people since the last inspection.
The hospital was rated as requires improvement following an inspection last June, and was issued with a warning notice, which identified the actions the hospital needed to take in order to comply with its legal obligations.
CQC inspected the service again in March to follow-up on its concerns but found there is still work to be done to ensure the service meets the standards of care that people have a right to expect.
This visit didn’t generate a new rating and so Rotherham General Hospital remains rated as requires improvement overall and for being safe, effective and well-led. It is rated good for being caring and responsive.
Sarah Dronsfield, head of hospital inspection at CQC, said:
“Although some improvements had been made at Rotherham General Hospital since the last inspection, there are still some areas of concern about the level of care being provided to people.
“We found staff didn’t always assess or manage the risks to patients physical or mental health. Also, the trust didn’t ensure all patients had access to a call bell, or make sure they were responded to quickly when patients needed support.
“Additionally, equipment and premises weren’t always clean and personal protective equipment wasn’t consistently used to manage the risk of infection.
“However, patients’ dignity and privacy was respected and critical medicines were being given when required.
“We will continue to monitor the hospital to ensure the necessary improvements are made.”
Findings from the latest inspection included:
- The required improvements to safeguarding processes had not all been made.
- Where changes had been made to areas such as safeguarding, risk assessments, and oversight of patients who were waiting for treatment these changes were not fully embedded.
- Not all patients were able to call for help when needed.
- The trust didn’t demonstrate that designated areas for the assessment of patients with mental health conditions were safe.
- It wasn’t clear that procedures for controlling the risk and spread of infection were consistently being followed.
However:
- New processes to ensure timely and effective safeguarding for both adult and paediatric patients had been introduced.
- New systems for completing risk assessments and for ensuring oversight of patients in the waiting room had been put in place.
- Staff respected patients’ dignity and privacy.
- Critical medicines were being given when prescribed.
- There was a new audit programme, which was overseen by senior management.
The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, which has oversight of Rotherham General Hospital, has been told it must take the following actions to improve:
- Risk assessments must be completed for all patients presenting with mental health conditions and appropriate risk management plans put in place.
- A record of all patients in the waiting area must be kept.
- Safeguarding concerns must be escalated appropriately.
- Infection prevention and control measures must be followed by all staff.
- Completed environmental risk assessments are easily accessible for all staff.
- The standard operating policy for over-labelled, take-home medicine is introduced and fully embedded.
Notes to editors
For enquiries about this press release, email regional.engagement@cqc.org.uk.
Journalists wishing to speak to the press office outside of office hours can find out how to contact our media team. (Please note: the press office is unable to advise members of the public on health or social care matters.)
For general enquiries, call 03000 61 61 61.