Chippenham Hospital fails in 11 areas, says report

An inspector from the commission, which oversees adult social care services, visited the hospital in December and found 11 areas where she had minor concerns.

People told inspectors that they did not feel able to raise problems in case this affected their ongoing care and treatment.

One person reported feeling belittled by staff because she had been unable to perform a basic task, and inspectors saw patients on the stroke unit struggling to eat their meals because staff were not paying them enough attention.

The report also highlighted record keeping, staff training and medicine management as areas which could be improved.

Ian Biggs, South West regional director of the commission, said that his staff would follow up the review later this year.

He said: “This report shows that if you don’t invest in your staff and ensure that they are properly supported, trained and managed, then the care that people receive will fall below required standards. “This situation must be resolved quickly so that people are cared for properly and can have confidence in the staff who look after them.

“It is clear that there are aspects of the service at Chippenham Hospital which are of a high standard, and many of the patients we met appreciated the care they received.”

Director of nursing Annie Kelly said the recommendations would be taken seriously and an action plan was being outlined and sent to the commission.

But she said: “I’m not happy with the quote from the commission.

“We invest a lot in our staff and know we have high satisfaction levels. Patients are safe on our wards.

“The issues were minor which is the lowest category of concern.”

She added that many of the problems regarding staff training stemmed from poor record keeping.

She said: “Some training went unrecorded. If the inspector can’t see the evidence they assume it hasn’t taken place.

“To address that we are putting a training log on the wards which will be updated as soon as training is completed.”

To help patients to make complaints, a new information sheet has been printed and circulated around wards.

Furniture changes have also been made to the dining room so that staff now face patients as they serve them, rather than using a table in an awkward corner which happened to be near a plug socket.

The inspector also noted that the nurse dispensing medication was interrupted while making her rounds.

Mrs Kelly said: “The nurse wears a tabard which says ‘do not disturb’.

“The problem was she was interrupted and also that she allowed herself to be interrupted.

“We need to make sure staff follow the correct procedures.”

Mrs Kelly added that she was concerned that one patient had complained of feeling belittled by a nurse.

She said: “We do not want patients to feel that way. We have sat down and spoken to the staff and told them how important it is to safeguard patients’ feelings.

“We ask the staff to consider if they would be happy for their family members to come to the hospital. I know I would be happy for my Mum to stay here.”

Chippenham GP Nick Brown said reports focussed on the negative.

He said: “The inspectors want to see improvements made. It would be a waste of time if it was all positive.

“They are always looking for development areas where hospitals can get better.

“I’ve never come across any complaints. The staff are generally local people with local pride and a good work ethic.”

The inspector noted that new mothers in the maternity unit praised the staff’s help with breastfeeding and staff in the minor injuries unit were described as cheerful and welcoming.

The inspector had no concerns over the hospital’s cleanliness and the risk of infections was low.