Rotherham Hospital: Watchdog concerned over patient care

The Care Quality Commission visited Rotherham Hospital in March

A health watchdog has said it was concerned by the level of care patients were receiving at Rotherham Hospital.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) revisited the hospital after it was rated as "requires improvement" last year.

Inspectors found not all patients could call for help, equipment was not always clean and PPE was not always used.

Hospital bosses said they welcomed the findings in the report and were working to improve.

The inspection took place in March to check if improvements had been made to the care and treatment of patients at their urgent and emergency care centre.

In June 2021, the CQC issued the hospital with a warning notice, which identified the actions it needed to take in order to comply with its legal obligations.

Areas of concern

In the latest inspection, it was found there was "still work to be done" to make sure the service delivered a standard of care people expected of it, the CQC said.

Sarah Dronsfield, head of hospital inspection at the CQC, said there remained some areas of concern.

"We found staff didn't always assess or manage the risks to patients physical or mental health. Also, the trust didn't ensure all patients had access to a call bell, or make sure they were responded to quickly when patients needed support.

"Additionally, equipment and premises weren't always clean and personal protective equipment wasn't consistently used to manage the risk of infection."

Inspectors found patients' dignity and privacy was respected and critical medicines were being given when needed.

'Improvements are required'

The trust which oversees the hospital has been told to improve risk assessment completions, as well as making sure safeguarding concerns were escalated properly.

Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust acknowledged there were a "number of improvements" it had made since previous inspections, but accepted more could be done.

"In response, we are continuing to follow through on our action plans and embed changes to ensure our patients receive high quality care," a spokesperson said.