Hospital didn’t have enough staff
CQC SAYS SERVICE FOR MENTAL HEALTH PATIENTS ‘REQUIRES IMPROVEMENT’
PATIENTS at a Nottinghamshire hospital which provides help for mental health did not have enough permanent staff looking after them, health inspectors have found.
Priory Hospital Arnold is provided by Priory Healthcare Limited. The hospital offers two acute mental health wards for men and women on Newstead and Bestwood Wards and a psychiatric intensive care unit on Rufford Ward for women.
They also planned to open a psychiatric intensive care unit for men on Clumber Ward. There were 16 beds on each of Bestwood and Newstead Wards and 10 beds on the Rufford Ward.
The hospital has been rated as ‘requires improvement’ during its latest inspection in October from the Care Quality Commission.
Details in the CQC’S public report published on November 19 said: “The provider had not employed enough permanent registered nurses to work on the wards. The provider was trying to recruit more registered nurses and employed locum staff to maintain safe staffing levels.
“The alarm system did not work effectively. Managers had put together a business case to replace this and in the interim the provider issued staff with personal alarms and staff used radios to summon help.
“Staff had identified a ligature anchor point on en suite doors on Newstead and Bestwood Wards and these were being replaced.
“Staff locked back the doors to reduce the risks in the interim until the work was completed.”
The CQC added how staff at the hospital, off Calverton Road, “did not always manage risks well.”
“Staff had not assessed a patient’s mental state before they went on leave. Staff had not recorded patient’s physical health observations on three patient records seen.
“Five patients told us their complaints were not listened to or fully investigated.
“Three staff were not aware of the vision and values of the organisation. There were not regular staff meetings on Newstead Ward.”
But inspectors said staff practised good infection control and followed the providers procedures. This reduced the spread of infection and staff had access to personal protective equipment.
Staff also used restraint only after attempts at de-escalation had failed.
The CQC added staff said that senior managers were visible, and managers sought various ways to engage with staff.
A spokesman for the hospital told the Post: “We are committed to constant improvement and take on board the report’s recommendations. Improvements have already been made as we implement an action plan to address all the CQC’S findings, following this partial inspection.
“There is a nationwide shortage of nurses, especially within mental health, but we have introduced a number of measures to boost recruitment and are working extremely hard in this area.
“Further improvements to our risk management and complaints processes have been made.
“We are glad to note the CQC’S positive comments about infection control and continue to work closely with our regulator and other agencies.”
we can stand our ground.
It’s funny how a Christmas song can also tell a tale.
Jean Taylor Basford