Medical care at Royal Lancaster Infirmary rated inadequate by CQC

The hospital’s medical care services, responsiveness to people’s needs and leadership have been rated as inadequate.

Medical care was previously rated good.

The inspection did not change the overall rating for RLI which remains as requires improvement.

Karen Knapton, the CQC’s head of hospital inspection, said: “When we looked at medical care services at Royal Lancaster Infirmary, we saw poor leadership that was impacting on patient care and the experience of staff working there.

“We found there wasn’t always enough nursing and medical staff to keep people safe.

“We saw that staff didn’t always treat patients with compassion or respect their privacy and dignity. We observed varying quality of interactions with patients. In some areas, patients were not always supported to maintain their independence with aspects of daily living, such as getting dressed.

“There was a poor culture on some wards. Staff told us that although ward managers and matrons were visible and supportive, senior managers weren’t. Staff didn’t feel the managers were always approachable, or that enough actions were being taken to mitigate risks to patients.

“During this inspection, inspectors saw an environment that wasn’t suitable for people’s needs. There was damaged flooring, crumbling walls and broken furnishings. There was a lack of dedicated facilities to support older people’s recovery and rehabilitation from illness or injury.

“Since our inspection, action has been taken to move patients into more suitable environments, with plans in place for further service improvements. We were also pleased to see that progress was being made in improving stroke services following our previous inspection.”

Jackie Bird, interim executive chief nurse at UHMBT, said: “We were aware of the issues within the wards inspected and had shared the improvements we were implementing and working on with the CQC during their inspection.

“We are grateful they have recognised the work being done and which has been undertaken since they inspected and have been continuing our work with the improvement team at NHS England/Improvement to improve the wards.

“We have already taken a number of actions, including moving one of the wards to new purpose-built facilities, enhancing the level of care offered to the patients. We are also pleased that the levels of care in those areas have already improved.

“There has been some really great work to improve the safety of patients, the care offered and the culture within the wards the CQC visited.”

She added: “We also want to pay tribute to our colleagues working in the areas inspected who have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic and now are continuing to improve the care offered.”