One of Stracathro Hospital’s most ardent supporters has launched a blistering attack on a national inspection body that highlighted faults in a report published last week.
Ruth Leslie Melville, speaking as chairwoman of the Friends of Stracathro and with the full backing of the Friends committee, accused the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate of making “a mountain out of a molehill,” highlighting “minor negatives” without balancing these against “patient satisfaction.”
She said the report has sparked a variety of negative reactions across Angus from people who are proud of their hospital and the patient care delivered there. People who contacted her were “furious, upset or disbelieving.”
Mrs Leslie Melville, who is a member of the board of NHS Tayside, lashed out after the inspectors stated they found dirty linen in an open corridor and domestic assistants using cleaning equipment that was not marked using a national colour code designed to stop the same cleaning equipment and materials being used in different areas and thus reduce the risk of cross infection.
As stated in The Courier report, these appeared to be “minor blips” because the inspectors stated that they found the ward environment and clinical areas inspected were clean and well maintained. But that has not saved them from the wrath of the Friends.
The inspectors made two requirements and five recommendations on improvements at the hospital.
One recommendation said MRSA and Clostridium difficile infection rates should be displayed.
The report did not mention that the hospital has been free of these infections for the last seven years.’Molehill'”When I read the headline in Tuesday’s Courier my initial reaction was that it couldn’t be referring to Stracathro Hospital but it was,” Mrs Leslie Melville said.
“What a mountain out of a molehill. Everyone who has contacted me about the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate (HEI) report has either been furious, upset or disbelieving.
“I encourage HEI to continue to drop in at any time to spot check Stracathro and if they find anything which is not quite up to their expectations then write a report.
“However, kindly have the good grace to point out the very good practice and the patient satisfaction experienced, which outweighs these minor negatives many times over.
“The staff at the hospital has been deeply upset by the comments contained within this report and, of course, they cannot defend themselves.
“However, as the chairperson of the Friends of Stracathro Hospital, and with the backing of my committee, I ask that there be a sense of proportion about the problems highlighted.
“The issues were minor and already Tayside Health Board has brought in measures to address them.
“The complaint that Stracathro does not display information about MRSA etc is a bit of a red herring as there has not been a case within the hospital for seven years and, even then, that case was imported from outwith Stracathro.
“The dirty linen referred to was a bag of nurses’ uniforms hardly a hanging offence.
“I should like to encourage the HEI to consider, when writing future reports, to ensure that although they may be factually correct in their criticism of an NHS facility, that they ought to consider the impact of their words on those involved and, in the case of Stracathro Hospital, highlight the quality of the service being offered in order to present a balanced picture.”