Sheffield Local Involvement Network

Yesterday (October 13), the Care Quality Commission (CQC) published a report into the standards of care that older people receive in hospital. The shocking findings that made the news extensively along with calls for a system-wide response to combat the failings identified.

The report, entitled the “Dignity and nutrition inspection programme”, summarised the findings of 100 unannounced inspections to NHS acute hospitals which took earlier this year, looking at whether the essential standards of dignity and nutrition were being met on wards caring for older people.

One of the hospitals visited was the Northern General Hospital (NGH) and LINk is glad to see it was placed in the category of ‘minor or no concern’. According to the specific report into the NGH, which took place on March 23, CQC inspectors together with a practicing experienced nurse visited the acute medical wards for older people of Hadfield 3 and 6. They talked to patients, staff and visitors to check two ‘outcomes’: Outcome 1, which was about ‘respecting and involving people who use services,’ and Outcome 5, which involved ‘meeting nutritional needs’. Overall “we found that Northern General Hospital was meeting both of the essential standards of quality and safety we reviewed”.

Of the 100 hospital inspected by the CQC, they found that:

• 45 hospitals met both standards (they were ‘fully compliant’)
• 35 met both standards but needed to improve in one or both (they were ‘fully compliant, with improvements suggested’)
• 20 hospitals did not meet one or both standards (they were ‘non-compliant, with improvements required’).