St Helens and Knowsley failing to meet CQC standards on patient nutrition and hydration

The CQC visited the hospital on 28 March as part of a “targeted inspection programme in acute NHS hospitals to assess how well older people are treated during their hospital stay”.

The inspections focussed on two “essential standards of care”: “whether people  were treated with dignity and respect and whether their nutritional needs were met”.

The assessors concluded: “People staying in Whiston Hospital are not consistently supported to have adequate nutrition and hydration”. As a result, the regulator has charged St Helens to provide a report explaining what action it will take to achieve compliance.

On dignity, the CQC found: “People staying in Whiston Hospital have their privacy, dignity and independence respected. Individual views and experiences are not always explored or recorded sufficiently for them to be taken into account in the way the service is provided and delivered.”