Ipswich Hospital told it must improve by inspectors
The Care Quality Commission downgraded medical care and said some patients waited up to 20 hours for treatment.
Services at Ipswich Hospital have been rated as “requires improvement”, with inspectors issuing a warning notice over safety concerns.
The Care Quality Commission highlighted staff shortages and delays in emergency care.
It said Inspectors found:
- Staff didn’t always document mental capacity assessments clearly or understand how to respect the rights of people with limited mental capacity.
- Staff in emergency care didn’t clearly record some people giving informed consent to care, meaning inspectors couldn’t confirm this took place.
- Staff didn’t always inform people clearly about details of their care, such as wait times, potential treatments, or when they might be discharged.
- Leaders hadn’t ensured all staff were up to date on training, including in safeguarding.
- Staff didn’t always mark newly cleaned equipment, and some didn’t always wash their hands between caring for people, which could spread infection.
- While staff did meet people’s nutrition needs, most people on the medical wards told inspectors they didn’t like the food.
- Some managers had been recently appointed to their roles and the leadership wasn’t always monitoring people’s outcomes well.
However:
- People said the emergency department was clean and calm, although the public waiting room could become crowded at times.
East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust says it welcomes the feedback and has already begun making improvements.
Adrian Marr, Interim Chief Executive at ESNEFT. He said: “While we are disappointed with the overall rating, the report also reflects the dedication, compassion and professionalism shown by our staff.
“We recognise the areas where we must do better, and we are already acting on the CQC’s findings. I want to thank all our teams for their ongoing commitment and kindness.
“We will continue to work at pace to deliver the improvements our patients and their families rightly expect."
ESNEFT Chief Nurse Catherine Morgan said: “Providing consistently safe, high quality and compassionate care is at the heart of everything we do.
“We take the CQC’s feedback extremely seriously but also acknowledge that the inspection reflects a moment in time. Our teams have already taken significant steps forward since the visit. We remain fully committed to building on that progress.”