Poole hospital improves but "there is still work"

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NHS Foundation of Poole Hospital

Improvements have been made in a hospital where whistleblowers have raised concerns, but further work is needed, according to the inspectors.

Poole Hospital received a warning from the Quality of Care Commission after an inspection last June.

In its last report, CQC stated that the issues raised in the warning had been resolved, but that problems, including poor control of infections, had been discovered.

The hospital said that he agreed "that there is still much to do."

The June 2018 inspection highlighted issues of medication management and staff support.

This was caused by the concerns of the launchers and by a series of errors, including seven "never events"; incidents considered so serious, they should never happen.

CQC stated that its recent follow – up visit revealed that the trust had met the specific requirements of the notification, but the inspectors reported other problems, including poor indoor infection control practice. surgery.

They discovered that some theater staff were not naked at the elbows and some were not always using hand hygiene gel.

They also found that the temperature in an operating room was too cold to more than two degrees below the normal range.

The inspectors said it meant that there was "an increased potential risk of infection for patients after the operation" because the blood and oxygen would flow less effectively.

Drug stores have improved, said inspectors, but "some concerns remained" because they were not always stored securely.

The hospital director, Debbie Fleming, said: "We welcome the lifting of the warning by the Commission and we welcome improvements in many areas.

"Nevertheless, there are areas in which we are determined to improve further, we are aware that there is still much to be done."

The CQC said: "We will continue to monitor services closely and come back in the future to check on progress."