HIS criticise condition of NHS Inverclyde Royal Hospital

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) carried out an unannounced inspection on the 284-bed hospital in October and have now released their findings.

While hard-pressed hospital staff are widely praised throughout the report, it reveals how watchdogs discovered the majority of trolley mattresses inspected in A&E were 'damaged and contaminated', a failure so serious it had to be raised immediately with senior management and rectified within days.

In other ward areas inspectors found dusty equipment, with staff disclosing that 'they did not have enough time to complete cleaning'.

Inspectors said that all areas in the hospital had 'very cluttered' storerooms and corridors, with equipment in one area preventing access to an emergency exit.

The report says that in ward areas inspectors found a series of shortcomings.

It states: 'We observed that many beds and bed rails were old, worn and damaged, making them difficult to be effectively cleaned and decontaminated.

'At a follow-up discussion, senior managers told us there should be an ongoing programme for the replacement of equipment.

'However, this did not reflect our findings as the majority of beds we observed were worn and damaged.'

The report also said that while domestic staff work hard to maintain a clean environment, they are let down by the fabric of the building, describing it as 'tired, worn and damaged in a number of areas'.

Inspectors highlighted broken and heavily stained flooring, leaking windows with adhesive plastic coating peeling off, swollen and broken wooden door surrounds due to damp, damaged walls and chipped and flaking paint and poorly fitted ventilation grills.

The inspectors also reported tape being used to fix broken areas of flooring and along window sills, heavily stained, broken and missing grouting at shower areas and gaps between sinks and walls.

Concerns were also raised about the presence of asbestos which requires assistance from a licensed contractor and has caused problems completing remedial work to walls and floors.

The report says that inspectors were told a significant amount of internal remedial work had been put on hold, 'partly due to increased site pressures from Covid-19'.

It added: 'We were also informed that a refurbishment programme which commenced a number of years ago had been paused due to issues with funding'.

The inspection team said that at the time of the visit, like many facilities across NHS Scotland, the hospital was 'experiencing a significant range of pressures', including increased hospital admissions, delayed discharges and reduced staff availability.

Questions about three wards being found locked, which restricted patient and visitor access, are also detailed in the report.

Despite the areas of concern, HIS commended staff for 'responding positively' to challenges and continuing to deliver 'effective patient care'.

Patients who were asked about the hospital said they received good care and showed 'high admiration' for staff.

The HIS has put an improvement plan in place to address the issues and actions are already being taken, according to the area's health board representative, Councillor Martin McCluskey.

He added: "The good points are in no small part down to the dedication of staff.

"The patients are really appreciative of the work that staff do and it's clear that the staff are working really hard in a hospital that is short-staffed.

"Nurses are working above and beyond in order to provide a safe level of care.

"It's clearly a very stretched workforce which could compromise patient care and infection control."

Cllr McCluskey said the report shows a programme of repairs for the hospital, scheduled to be completed by 2026, must be finished sooner.

He added: "We need to accelerate the programme of works, we can't wait another three years.

"The board must act on the improvement plan and make sure everything outlined in it happens."

A spokesperson for Greater Glasgow & Clyde said: "We would like to thank all of our staff for their continued hard work and dedication which has helped us to continue to deliver person-centred, compassionate care to our patients, despite the continued significant pressures facing our frontline teams.

"The latest HIS report clearly demonstrates that our staff remain absolutely committed to delivering safe, effective and patient-centred care, as highlighted by high levels of patient satisfaction and strong local leadership recorded during the visit to Inverclyde Royal Hospital.

"The visit took place during a period where an increase in patient numbers was impacting the IRH and the professionalism and constructive support shown by our teams to the inspection team was all the more significant due to these challenges and we would like to thank everyone involved.

"The report highlighted a small number of areas we needed to address.

"We can confirm we have already addressed many of these, and have developed a plan to address any outstanding actions as soon as possible."