Burnley General Hospital standards still ‘not being met’

That was the verdict of an impromptu inspection by the Care Quality Commission.

Inspectors visited the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and the Urgent Care Centre in November and although standards of staffing and the care and welfare of people who use the service were met, hospital bosses were told to improve the way service quality is monitored.

The report found the majority of parents whose babies were cared for on NICU were happy with the treatment but some said they felt staff were “stressed when rushed.”

There were also some concerns about staffing levels throughout NICU, however patients at the UCC praised their treatment.

The report said: “We found the governance systems and in particular communication with the staff on the NICU to be limited and this had led to reports of ‘low’ staff morale.”

But the inspection also found that: “Patients experienced effective, safe and appropriate care, treatment and support which met their needs and preferences.”

Following the report, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust was told to inform the CQC of steps it is taking to improve monitoring and assessment.

The report said: “While systems were in place to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service, these were not always effective and incidents had not been consistently analysed in order to reduce the potential of harm to patients.”

Mr Jonathan Wood, acting chief executive of the Trust, said: “We welcome the CQC report and the positive comments.

“Staff working on the NICU were praised by parents for their friendly, polite and caring attitude towards themselves and their babies.

“The UCC received similar comments and patients described the service as ‘excellent.’ Of the three essential standards assessed within the inspection, a minor concern was raised in relation to NICU and the Trust has commenced actions to address this. The Trust was pleased to note that Burnley Urgent Care met all the standards and were commended on their evidence.”