Patients suffered a lack of dignity and equipment was contaminated with bodily fluids due to “considerable pressures” at a Kirkcaldy hospital.
Inspectors found a lack of shower facilities affected “patient choice, dignity and fundamentals of care” at Victoria Hospital.
Officials also discovered equipment with blood and bodily fluids on it, along with dust and mould in some areas during the unannounced visit in December.
That was just days before The Courier told how ambulance crews were running a makeshift ward outside the A&E department as the hospital struggled to cope.
NHS Fife has admitted the issues found by inspectors were due to “considerable pressures” on the hospital.
Officials make 13 requirements for improvement at Victoria Hospital
Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) carried out the follow-up visit after an initial inspection from July 31 to August 2 last year raised significant concerns in relation to patient safety and maintenance of the hospital environment.
At the visit in December, they found NHS Fife is undertaking ongoing improvement work but identified more areas for improvement.
They highlighted nine areas of good practice – with patients praising the care provided by staff – and issued one recommendation and 13 requirements.
The inspection report states that in several areas, inspectors found equipment, including a commode, contaminated with bodily fluids.
Blood and bodily fluids found on items
It added: “Items also found to be contaminated with blood and bodily fluids were pat slides and damage to patient moving and handling equipment.”
Inspectors noted a build-up of dust within ceiling air vents in several wards, and a small amount of mould in one ward in the kitchen, a pipe, in the showers and on the bottom of the shower curtains.
HIS issued requirements including that equipment should be decontaminated after use, and that vents should be appropriately monitored and cleaned.
The report noted that at the time of the follow-up inspection, Victoria Hospital was experiencing a range of pressures, including increased patient numbers, reduced staff availability and high acuity of patients.
As a result, NHS Fife was using additional beds in clinical areas, which inspectors said may have an impact on patient dignity in relation to shower facilities.
The report noted: “Whilst we observed that patient privacy curtains were used to maintain privacy and dignity in ward areas that had additional beds, a lack of available shower facilities may have an impact on patient choice, dignity and fundamentals of care.”
NHS Fife says work is “well under way” to address the issues raised by HIS.
Patients at Victoria Hospital ‘complimentary about care’
Donna Maclean, HIS chief inspector, said: “During this follow-up inspection we have been assured that progress has been made by NHS Fife, with all requirements relating to maintenance of the healthcare environment being met or partially met.
“Patients and relatives were complimentary about their care and the staff providing it. The areas inspected were calm and well-led, with hospital teams working together to provide compassionate care.
“The majority of staff we spoke with described Victoria Hospital as a good place to work, with a supportive and visible senior management team.
“However, further improvement is required in relation to maintaining patient dignity, hand hygiene, patient documentation, fire training compliance, the safe storage of cleaning products, and the safe management of waste.”
NHS Fife says Victoria Hospital was under ‘considerable pressure’ during inspection
NHS Fife director of nursing Janette Keenan says she is “pleased” that the report recognises the “considerable progress” made in the hospital.
However, she added: “The latest unannounced inspection took place in December when, as the report notes, our hospital was under considerable pressure due to the rise in the numbers of those seriously unwell patients requiring inpatient care, and the impact of winter illnesses on staff availability.
“It is testament to the hard work and diligence of hospital staff that patients and relatives were so complimentary of the care being provided, even in such difficult and challenging circumstances.
“As is common with inspections of this type, areas were identified where there is scope for improvement.
“Work is already well under way to address these areas as quickly as possible.”
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