Hospital 'must make improvements' - inspectors

Kettering General Hospital has been rated as "requires improvement" again

A hospital has been told it must make improvements following unannounced checks by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The performance of services for children and young people had got better at Kettering General Hospital, but responsiveness of medical care had got worse, inspectors found.

The hospital has been rated as "requires improvement".

A report by the CQC said there was "still much more to do there and across medical, surgery and urgent and emergency services".

The CQC said it carried out an unannounced inspection because it had "received information giving us concerns about the safety and quality of the services".

The previous rated inspection, in December 2022, found areas within urgent and emergency care and children and young persons' services as inadequate, it said.

While it did find improvements in some areas, the CQC has ordered the hospital to make a number of changes.

Inspectors found patients sitting on the floor or standing in the emergency department

The overall rating for children and young people's services had improved from inadequate to requires improvement, it said.

But inspectors were particularly concerned about urgent and emergency care.

Charlotte Rudge, CQC deputy director of operations in the Midlands, said:

"It was clear the demand on the service had outgrown the size of the department and we saw people sitting on floors or standing due to insufficient space.

"Sometimes, relatives had to alert staff to people’s conditions deteriorating due to nurses not being able to see everyone in the waiting area which was placing people at the risk of harm."

Some staff told the CQC that staffing levels were too low

Some staff told the inspectors that "the staffing levels weren’t sufficient and this added extra pressure to ensuring safe care".

The inspectors were also worried about children in their waiting area being able to see high-risk adult patients being treated.

They did find that some improvements had been made, such as the treatment of sepsis, and communication with mental health support services.

The hospital says improvements have taken place since the inspection

Kettering General Hospital’s chief executive, Deborah Needham, said: “Since the inspection took place, we have continued to see improvements across both medicine and surgery, having reduced our maximum waiting time for treatment and improving our four-hour performance in the emergency department.

"We are especially pleased that our significant efforts to improve children’s and young people’s services have been recognised with an improved rating.

"We will be working hard to address the issues raised, however, we recognise that the ratings are indicative of the immense operational pressures our hospital continues to face."

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