Posted 17 January 2024 - 13:30
Posted 17 January 2024 - 13:30
News
Nurse shortages part of inadequate rating at psychiatric hospital
Care Quality Commission report on Rampton high security hospital rated it as inadequate with patients often confined to their rooms due to poor staffing levels
Care Quality Commission report on Rampton high security hospital rated it as inadequate with patients often confined to their rooms due to poor staffing levels
A high security psychiatric hospital has been told to make significant improvements after it was discovered patients were being confined to their rooms for long periods due to understaffing.
Hospital did not always have enough staff to keep people safe
A Care Quality Commission (CQC) report, published on 17 January, found Rampton Hospital in Nottinghamshire did not always have enough nursing and medical staff to keep people safe, with patients locked in their rooms for extended periods of time as a result.
The hospital provides services to people detained under the Mental Health Act 1983, who have learning disabilities, mental illness or psychopathic disorders. Among those housed there are killer nurse Beverley Allitt, who was convicted of murdering four infants and attempting to kill three others at Grantham and Kesteven Hospital in Lincolnshire in 1991.
The CQC inspection took place in June and July last year and was a follow-up to a previous inspection in September 2022. During the latest inspection, wards were again found to be understaffed which had been highlighted at the previous inspection according to the report. It added that ‘confinement exposed patients to an increased risk of harm’.
Inspectors also found evidence of staff not always using measures such as restraint and seclusion appropriately.
Health and well-being of patients at risk as hospital rated inadequate
CQC deputy director of operations in the Midlands Greg Rielly said it was ‘disappointing’ that the trust had failed to make the improvements it was told to carry out following the previous inspection.
‘We found the hospital didn’t always have enough nursing and medical staff to keep people safe. Staff regularly confined people to their bedrooms and limited their access to activities and leave from their room, due to low staffing numbers. This meant people weren’t having any fresh air, which wasn’t good for their health and well-being,’ he said.
‘It was disappointing that levels of restrictive interventions were so high, and are often used to manage risks to people, due to low staffing levels.’
The hospital has been rated inadequate and is not allowed to admit anyone without prior written agreement from CQC as a result.
Trust has employed 75 staff members since the report
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, said the safety and well-being of patients was a priority and staff have since ‘worked incredibly hard’ to improve services.
Chief executive Ifti Majid said the trust has since recruited 75 nurses and healthcare support workers, improved training compliance and reduced daytime confinement.
He added: ‘We will continue to work closely with the CQC, our colleagues, and those who use our services and their families, to focus on continuing to improve the experience for those who use our services.’
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