The CEO of a South Yorkshire hospice has issued an apology after the Care Quality Commission (CQC) placed the service in special measures after it found a number of “significant” issues that risked patient safety.
The CQC carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection at Barnsley Hospice in April and May after receiving information regarding the quality of care being provided to patients.
Following the inspection, the CQC issued the hospice with three warning notices relating to the safe care and treatment of patients, their capacity to safeguard patients from abuse and improper treatment, and the overall management of the service.
Barnsley Hospice, which is run by Barnsley Hospice Appeal, was also rated inadequate for being safe, responsive and well led, as requiring improvement for being effective, and good for being caring.
At its previous inspection the service was rated good overall.
The hospice’s CEO Julie Ferry has since apologised in a statement to the people of Barnsley and committed to redoubling efforts to ensure the best possible care and support for patients and their families.
What inspectors found
Some of the key findings were:
- Staff did not have training in key skills, did not understand how to protect patients from abuse, and did not manage safety well.
- The service did not always control infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients and acted on them but did not always keep good care records. They did not always manage medicines well. Records were not clear or complete.
- The service did not manage safety incidents well and did not learn lessons from them. When things went wrong staff did not apologise or give patients honest information or suitable support.
- Managers did not monitor the effectiveness of the service well and did not make sure staff were competent for their roles by providing support and development including making sure they understood their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act.
- Leaders did not run services well using reliable information systems and did not support staff to develop their skills.
However, inspectors found the service had enough staff, that staff provided good care and treatment, gave patients enough to eat and drink, and gave them pain relief when needed.
It was also noted that staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions and that they provided emotional support to patients, families and carers.
They were also found to be focused on the needs of patients receiving care and were clear about their roles and accountabilities.
CQC head of hospital inspection Sarah Dronsfield, said the regulator was not assured that patients were receiving the safe care and treatment they deserved.
“We were concerned to find that only serious incidents were investigated. Recurring incidents, such as falls, were not prevented, or the risk reduced, because staff did not fully investigate them,” she said.
“We found that processes for sharing important information were unclear and did not ensure that staff learnt from incidents that took place.
“We found that leaders did not ensure that staff kept up to date with all necessary training to keep patients safe.
“Patients had to wait an unacceptable amount of time to access the service. Also, leaders did not explore how the service could meet the wider needs of the local population or understand how to promote inclusion.”
Three warning notices have been issued to help focus upon the areas where improvements must be made and another inspection will take place within six months to check on progress.
Addressing issues raised
In response to the the CQC’s findings, Julie Ferry, chief executive at Barnsley Hospice, said: “We accept the findings of the CQC report and are extremely concerned and disappointed about the shortcomings identified.
“We have already started taking robust action to address the issues raised. There are some positives in the report, particularly around our caring, which is rated as good. However, we have fallen far short in other areas.
“We’d like to apologise to the people of Barnsley who we feel we have let down.
“It has been a very challenging 18 months for us, as it has for many organisations and individuals, but that is not an excuse. We will be redoubling our efforts to provide the best care and support possible for patients and families in their time of need.”
