CQC finds care of elderly patients lacking at more trusts

The CQC found some patients were not given physical assistance to eat their meals at Barnsley Hospital Foundation Trust and St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals Trust.

One patient at Barnsley Hospital had an empty urine bottle placed on their table while they were eating.

The criticism was contained in the latest batch of reports produced as part of the CQC’s England-wide review of care for older people in 100 hospitals.

The reports found that some patients at Barnsley Hospital were not given help with eating - with staff unsure about which patients had specific nutritional needs.

The CQC review also expressed concern about the way elderly people were fed at Whiston Hospital, part of St Helens and Knowsley.

Inspectors raised “moderate concerns” about the two trusts, meaning there was good practice on some wards, but not others.

A further two trusts have been told they are meeting standards but must do more to maintain them, while 10 hospitals passed inspections.

The two trusts told to maintain their standards were St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust in south London and Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The 10 trusts that met all the standards were: University College London Hospitals Foundation Trust, Lewisham Healthcare Trust, Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals Foundation Trust, Kettering General Hospital Foundation Trust, Kingston Hospital Trust, Taunton and Somerset Foundation Trust, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre Trust, Calderdale and Huddersfield Foundation Trust, North Middlesex University Hospital Trust and York Hospitals Foundation Trust.

A national CQC report on the full audit will be published in September.