Patients 'feel safe' in hospital's wards, says watchdog

The report looked at the medical division, which covers ten wards and 320 beds

Patients feel "safe and well cared for" in ten hospital wards, a watchdog ruled.

A Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspector rated the unplanned medical care wards at Great Western Hospital (GWH) in Swindon, which covers 320 beds, as "good".

However, some issues were identified around infection control, patients waiting in corridors and the storing of patients' records.

Luisa Goddard, GWH's chief nurse, said they were "delighted" with the good rating but said there are "areas we want to improve".

This latest inspection carried out in May did not cover A&E or urgent care departments, and does not change the hospital's overall rating which is still "requires improvement".

'Excellent care'

The CQC said the focused inspection found "the service is performing well and meeting expectations" on wards including gastroenterology.

Patients told inspectors they felt "safe and staff were providing excellent care".

However, there were patients waiting in corridors "typically less than one day".

These patients told inspectors they felt "well cared for", but there were concerns around privacy and dignity.

Hospital bosses said they recently reorganised medical bed locations so patients are treated in the "most appropriate" areas, "improving the overall efficiency of care".

The report will be available on the CQC website in the next few days

The report also said patient records were not always stored securely and the service did not always manage infection prevention.

Hospital leaders acted immediately to resolve the issues when informed, the CQC report stated.

Inspectors also found "staff were not always aware of the communication aids they had access to, to support people with communication needs" - the hospital said it is now developing a toolkit for staff to address this.

'Delighted'

Ms Goddard, said the "good" rating is "testament to the hard work of our amazing teams".

"Of course there are areas want to improve, and we are continually working to maintain standards around infection control, privacy and dignity and patient records" she added.

The report will be published on CQC's website in the coming days.