Health trust requires “urgent improvements”
Posted: January 31, 2014
Posted in: Medical Negligence
A recent investigation has uncovered worrying shortfalls within the Liverpool Community Health NHS Trust. Care Quality Commission inspectors made “extremely concerning” findings during their unannounced visits last year. Inspectors went to the trust’s headquarters and Ward 35 Immediate Care Unit at Aintree University Hospital, where it was uncovered that the trust was failing to meet national care and welfare targets.
It was found that the trust had a “high staff sickness rate” alongside a “poor staff skill mix”, two reasons contributing to the poor quality of care. During the investigation, staff members told inspectors that the staff morale was very low within the trust, and that they felt unsupported by trust managers. These were noted as “serious concerns” by inspectors, as staff complained of being unfairly treated if complaints were made to management.
Unannounced follow-up visits
During the inspection of Ward 35, CQC inspectors recognised that staff were not always following a safe practice when administering medication to patients, and that medication was not always stored in an appropriate manner. The CQC have warned the trust that “urgent improvements must be made” and that unannounced follow-up visits will be arranged for the near future.
Frances Molloy, who chairs the trust, said: “The trust is committed to resolving the highlighted issues, many of which were identified by ourselves and by our own staff in the second half of last year.”
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