Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust scrapes through CQC spot check

The regulator checked two “essential standards” of care during an inspection of two general medical wards – Ray Ward and Lister Ward – at the trust’s Princess Alexandra Hospital on 6 April.

Inspectors – including a practising nurse – observed how people were being cared for, talked with patients, talked with staff, and checked records.

The standards assessed were:

• People should be treated with respect, involved in discussions about their care and treatment and able to influence how the service is run
• Food and drink should meet people’s individual dietary needs

It concluded overall that Princess Alexandra Hospital had passed the CQC standards for dignity and nutrition, but there were minor concerns on the trust’s ability to maintain performance in both of them.

In its report, the regulator said: “Many patients were very positive about their experiences of care and treatment at The Princess Alexandra Hospital. Patients are informed and involved in decision making about their care and treatment.

But it noted: “Delays in call bells being responded to due to a lack of staff at times, resulted in a delay for some patient’s receiving care. Both of the wards visited were found to provide a high standard of individual care.

“The trust provides staff with training relating to privacy, dignity and human rights. Staff are knowledgeable about individual rights and choices and made every effort to ensure patients’ privacy and dignity is respected.

“However, there is also evidence from other sources that patients do not always feel their privacy is respected by medical staff.”

It added: “The trust is ensuring that patients receive a full assessment of their nutritional requirements and that these are addressed and regularly reviewed. Staff are well trained to provide support for patients to eat and drink and were found to be attentive and considerate in providing this support.

“Adherence with the protected mealtime policy has recently improved but there is scope for further improvement.

But it said: “Recording of patients’ food and fluid intake is inconsistent so that it is not always possible to establish whether their nutritional needs are being met.”

The regulator visited 100 hospitals as part of its programme of inspections on older patients’ treatment and is currently publishing them in batches, of which this is the fourth.