Safety risk fears over operating theatre at Cannock Hospital
An operating theatre was shut at Cannock Hospital over safety fears, an inspection has revealed.
Staff were also found to be wearing gowns and hats that had been used in theatre – which went against policy.
The findings have been revealed in the latest Care Quality Commission (CQC) report on the hospital in Brunswick Road.
During the visit officials inspected two surgical wards and went into three theatres at the hospital.
One of the four operating theatres was closed due to its unsatisfactory condition as there were loose tiles and an unsatisfactory seal on the doors, which compromised the air pressure control, it was said.
The report found that some infection prevention and control processes were also not robust.
There were also inconsistencies around the world health organisation check lists, with some staff not completing some stages.
The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, which runs Cannock Hospital along with Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital and West Park Hospital in Wolverhampton, has been rated good by the CQC.
Cannock Chase Hospital maintains its ‘requires improvement’ rating from its last report in September 2015.
However the CQC has not finished its inspection of Cannock Chase Hospital yet and will give its final rating at a later date.
Meanwhile the hospital trust said it had already addressed the concerns raised in the report so far.
The CQC report led by Bernadette Hanney, head of hospital inspection, and Katherine Williams, inspection manager, said: “One theatre was closed due to its unsatisfactory condition.
"We also saw theatre staff wearing gowns and hats that had been used in theatre. This contradicted policy for standards of dress at work.
"There were inconsistencies around the world health organisation checklists, with some staff not completing some stages.
“We found that staff were not always following the correct protocol for taking time out of the theatre environment.”
However it pointed out: “Staff told us that they were fully supported by their managers and were proud to work at the trust.
"They subscribed to the trust’s visions and values and demonstrated good care and support to the patients.
“Staff knew how to access relevant information to perform their duties. There were regular meetings where learning from incidents would be discussed and staff were confident and competent in reporting incidents.”
And a spokesman for the trust said: “All of the issues identified by the CQC during their recent inspection of Cannock Chase Hospital’s theatres have already been resolved and we welcome their further visits to the hospital to inspect the rest of Cannock’s services.”
The CQC are still set to inspect urgent and emergency services, medical care, end of life care and diagnostic imaging.
Trust rated good
Medical services still need to improve before the hospital trust can be dubbed outstanding, the health watchdog said.
Leaders at the trust have been told 30 areas of improvement are needed to enhance service quality and they must rectify four breaches of legal requirements.
David Loughton CBE, chief executive of The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, said: “We have worked hard since the last inspection.
“The CQC report highlights many of the ways in which our staff have succeeded in delivering better, more responsive services.
“Our staff have worked extremely hard, and continue to do so, in pressurised environments against a back drop of a challenged healthcare system.
"We are looking forward to moving confidently towards an ‘outstanding’ rating.”
The trust was rated as ‘requires improvement’ three years ago but its overall status improved following an inspection earlier this year.
Inspectors handed ‘good’ ratings in the ‘effective, caring, responsive and well led’ categories, but deemed it as requiring improvement in the ‘safe’ category.
Quality of care had improved since the last inspection, with patient feedback ‘consistently positive, inspectors said.
But mandatory training compliance was low and there had been a ‘deterioration’ in completing required World Health Organisation checklists.
Chief inspector of hospitals Professor Ted Baker, said: “Overall, The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust provides good care to the large population that it serves and the trust can be proud of its service.
“We found staff to be dedicated, kind, caring and patient focused. The local management and leadership of services were both knowledgeable and visible.”
The trust manages Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital and West Park Hospital, Cannock Chase Hospital and nine GP practices across Wolverhampton.
Work is now under way to ensure areas listed for improvement are completed ‘as soon as possible’, the trust said.
Wolverhampton South West MP Eleanor Smith, who was an NHS theatre nurse for 40 years, said: “It’s very good all the hospitals in the trust have achieved a rating of ‘good’ in such difficult circumstances.
The city’s South East MP Pat McFadden added: “These findings are a credit to everyone who works in the local NHS.”
