Improvements being made to services at Walsall Manor Hospital following inspection by watchdog

Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) visited Walsall Manor Hospital on March 9 due to concerns within the medical wards at the site.

The watchdog issued Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, with a warning notice and they were told to improve within three months.

Inspectors said there needed to be a "significant improvement" in relation to nurse staffing, governance, and how they provided patients with a safe discharge.

Now, at a public meeting of the health trust, the trust's head of nursing said the hospital is making the improvements highlighted by the CQC in time for the June 30 deadline.

Ann-Marie Riley, director of nursing at the trust, said: "The CQC conducted a focused inspection across our medical wards on March 9, 2021 – they visited ward one, two, three, 16 and 17.

"A Section 29[A] notice was served on the trust on March 31 and the three actions which relate to that notice have got to be completed by the end of June – and just to assure the board, they are on track."

The warning notice is issued under the Health and Social Care Act when concerns are identified and it is decided there is a need for "significant improvements in the quality of healthcare".

One of the three actions highlighted by the CQC was in relation to ensuring staffing is "reviewed and escalated appropriately" to prevent exposing patients to the risk of harm.

In response, health chiefs have put forward a string of measures – including reviewing their processes, monitoring, and analysis being carried out, along with further recruitment.

International nurses

"Proactive" international recruitment is under way with the aim to recruit 125 international nurses before the end of December this year, with 40 set to arrive this month, board papers show.

A second action highlighted by the watchdog said the trust must ensure systems are in place to ensure staff are "suitably qualified, skilled and competent to care for and meet the needs of patients within all areas of the medical services".

In response, chiefs are developing a "robust workforce plan" after a nursing establishment review – with recruitment being developed to support the "elimination" of agency nurse usage by December this year.

And the third action said the trust must ensure staff are documenting that discharge planning – when patients are discharged – is in place and check-lists are used to ensure it is done safely. In response, the trust is implementing a revised discharge check-list adapted from the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.

As a result of the CQC inspection, the rating of medical services at Walsall Manor Hospital changed from 'requires improvement to inadequate'. Medical services were rated inadequate for being safe, responsive and well-led – with the overall trust rating remaining unchanged as requires improvement.

The inspection report, which rated the medical services as inadequate, said: "The service did not have enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. There was an inconsistent approach and understanding on how to protect patients from abuse. The service did not always control infection risk well."

However, inspectors also found staff provided "good care and treatment", administered medicine well and assessed risks to patients, and "remained focused on the needs of patients receiving care and provided kind and compassionate care to patients".