Inspectors discovered deteriorating medical care at three hospitals in Essex.
After receiving a warning about safety issues, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) visited the hospitals in Basildon, Southend, and Broomfield.
The CQC has issued a warning and requested immediate improvements from the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust.
The report was "hugely disappointing," according to acting CEO Hannah Coffey.
The medical care provided by all three hospitals has been rated as "inadequate," after having previously received the grade "requires improvement.".
The inspection report stated that there wasn't enough medical staff in Southend with "the right qualifications, skills, training and experience to keep patients safe from avoidable harm.".
Inspectors discovered catheter bags on the floor, putting patients at risk for UTIs.
They also found an elderly patient who was in pain but was too weak to call for help because the call bell was out of reach and was covered in urine-soaked sheets.
The CQC found that Broomfield had a lot of open positions and a shortage of nursing and support staff.
Although the issue had been reported three weeks earlier, Basildon Hospital's leaking and damaged pipes were only discovered while a patient was being cared for in the room.
Inspectors looked at 14 "Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR)" documents and discovered that half of the patients were incompetent, but only two had received a mental capacity assessment, they discovered.
The DNACPR guidelines specify what should be done or not be done by medical personnel in cases of sudden cardiac arrest or sudden death.
This implied that the best course of action to safeguard patients against avoidable harm was not always recognized, they claimed.
All three hospitals' other findings included the following:.
- When needed, people were unable to access the service.
- National standards for wait times weren't always met.
- The staff didn't always finish and revise risk assessments.
- People's care and treatment were not always accurately documented by staff.
Overall, the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust is still considered to need improvement.
The CQC did find that patients' individual needs were met and that they were treated with kindness and compassion across all three services.
In April 2020, a single trust was formed out of all three hospitals.
The East of England's CQC deputy director, Hazel Roberts, claimed that the organization's leadership did not have complete control over the problems they were dealing with.
We want to see major improvements, she stated, adding that they must "ensure that people can access the service when they need it and that there is enough trained staff to care for them safely.".
Hannah Coffey, the interim chief executive of the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, stated that efforts were already being made to address the concerns brought up.
She stated, "We are a company dedicated to quality improvement and giving our patients the best care possible.
According to Ms. Coffey's further explanation, the CQC's algorithm resulted in a new overall rating of "inadequate" for the hospitals in Broomfield and Basildon.
"The previous ratings for Basildon and Broomfield were removed during our merger to form one organization, so very few of the services at those locations have undergone inspection. Their general rating has been affected as a result," she said.
"Getting the fundamentals right has been a real focus.
. "
