Royal United Hospital Bath 'requires improvement', says CQC

The CQC carried out an unannounced focused check on the hospital in July

A hospital's rating has been downgraded from "good" to "requires improvement" following an assessment.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) carried out an inspection of the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust's medical care service, in July.

It did the unannounced check after receiving "concerning information" on safety and quality of care.

Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust said it welcomed the report.

The site houses 12 medical inpatient wards with a total of 381 beds and provides a range of services including medicine and surgery, services for women and children, accident and emergency services, and diagnostic and clinical support services.

During the focused check, the CQC only looked at whether the hospital's medical care service was safe and well led.

Its report found the safety of its services, its responsiveness to people's needs and the way it was led required improvements.

The hospital's risk register, a tool for compiling and managing information about problems at hospitals, "held over 70 risks", the CQC said.

"Leaders told us risk items should be reviewed at regular speciality meetings; however the trust could not always be assured this was carried out," the report added.

"The risk register had been identified as an area which required improvement since November 2022."

The report also said the hospital's care and treatment plans, in particular fluid charts, were completed inconsistently and the design, maintenance and use of facilities, premises and equipment did not always keep people safe.

It also found it lacked storage space, did not meet the trust's targets for cleaning audits and some wards required maintenance work.

A Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said they welcomed the report, were fully committed to making the improvements identified and had already started work on the improvements required.

"We were pleased that the report also identified many positives, inspectors praised the 'outstanding programme' for international nurses, our ability to manage patient safety incidents well and the way managers and ward leaders were supported to make the wards a welcoming place to work," they said.

"The RUH is committed to being an organisation where everyone matters and we would like to reassure patients that our staff remain fully committed to providing the very best standards of care at all times."