Services at Heartlands Hospital rated as Requires Improvement - The Solihull Observer

Services at Heartlands Hospital rated as Requires Improvement

Solihull Editorial 4th Feb, 2021   0

SERVICES at Heartlands Hospital have been rated ‘requires improvement’ by the chief inspector of hospitals.

University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) was handed the status by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Inspectors made an unannounced inspection during December last year following a number of concerns raised over a number of issues including patients nutrition, incident reporting, patient support and infection control procedures.

The inspection was carried out in December last year – ten months on from the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.




At Heartlands Hospital inspectors visited eight wards and spoke with 36 members of staff including ward managers, registered nursing staff, healthcare assistants, medical staff and discharge co-ordinators.

The report says they found there was not always have enough nursing and support staff with the right qualifications, skills, training and experience to keep patients safe from avoidable harm and to provide the right care and treatment.


But they did note managers regularly reviewed and adjusted staffing levels and skill mix to mitigate risks.

Inspectors noted patients were given enough food and drink to meet and improve their health, however it was not always documented in patient records where required.

It was also noted equipment to protect patients and staff from infection were not always used but the equipment and premises were visibly clean.

Inspectors noted staff supported patients to make informed decisions about their care and treatment and they knew how to support patients who lacked capacity to make their own decisions.

A spokesperson for University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust said: “There are some issues raised in the reports, all of which we were aware of prior to the inspection, which we recognise as requiring further work and this is ongoing.

“At the time of the inspections, which took place on December 2 and 9, the Trust and our amazing staff were 10 months into a pandemic response with over 450 Covid inpatients on the days the inspections took place, rising to 1,054 Covid inpatients during January.

“Despite the enormous challenges faced by our staff, reassuringly there were no escalations related to individual patient safety at the time of inspection.

“The CQC recognised the complexity of the context and the Trust has provided further assurances related to ongoing work.

“The effort of our staff to provide care to what is now well over 11,000 Covid inpatients, during the most difficult period in the history of the NHS, has been and remains quite extraordinary. It continues to be our focus.”

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