By Vivienne Russell | 26 May 2011
Three hospitals in England are failing to meet basic legal standards for the care of elderly patients, inspectors have said.
The Care Quality Commission is examining standards for older people in 100 NHS hospitals across England. Its reports on the first 12 inspected were published today.
They revealed that Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, the Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust and the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust were all failing to meet legal standards of care.
Less serious concerns were raised over care standards in three other hospitals.
Recurring concerns included patients not being helped to eat and not being given enough to drink, with water sometimes being left out of reach.
There were also concerns about dignity and respect. Examples included staff not explaining treatment to older people, leaving their personal information in open areas, and speaking to them in a condescending or dismissive way.
CQC chair Jo Williams said some of the reports ‘detail omissions which add up to a failure to meet basic needs’.
She added: ‘I will be writing to the chair of every hospital where this inspection programme has identified poor care to ask what they plan to do to address these issues. The key elements that every hospital must have in place are a compassionate staff culture which is driven by strong leadership and supported by good systems.’
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said it was ‘unacceptable’ that some hospitals were not getting the basics right.
‘Where the inspections uncovered appalling levels of care, the CQC will be able to use its enforcement powers to ensure that real improvements are made. By measuring what is important and then publishing the results, I believe we can enter a new era of high quality NHS care for patients,’ he said.
A spokeswoman for the Royal Free said the trust was ‘disappointed’ by the CQC’s report. But she added: ‘We take the findings of this review very seriously and following the CQC’s concerns, we immediately implemented an action plan to make sure we comply with both the letter and the spirit of the standards. Regular auditing is in place which is reviewed at board level.’
Helen Blanchard, director of nursing and midwifery at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, apologised for the care witnessed by the CQC inspectors. She said: ‘We have taken the inspectors’ comments very seriously and have been working very hard to ensure that our staff across all of our sites fully understand their responsibility to maintain the highest standards of care and to comply with the CQC regulations.
‘We continue to carry out our own unannounced visits across wards, as do representatives from our Patients and Public Forum, in order to satisfy ourselves that those standards are being consistently achieved and to identify where improvements are required.’
