Royal Hampshire County Hospital

Updated 28 January 2022

Our rating of services improved. We rated it them as good because:

• Generally the service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well. The service controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them. Staff collected safety information and used it to improve the service.
• Staff provided good care and treatment, gave patients enough to eat and drink, and gave them pain relief when they needed it. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, advised them on how to lead healthier lives, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information. Key services were available seven days a week.
• Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to patients, families and carers.
• The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of patients’ individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait too long for treatment.
• Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff understood the service’s vision and values, and how to apply them in their work. Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with patients and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

However:

• Mandatory training rates did not always meet the trust’s target.
• Not all staff had completed training in the Mental Capacity Act/Deprivation of Liberty.
• Not all staff had completed a yearly appraisal.
• Safe staffing levels were not always achieved consistently across the hospital.
• Staff did not always work effectively to manage patient flow within the hospital.
• Not all areas had a dedicated pharmacist and medicines were not always managed well.
• Surgical patients did not have their risk of developing a venous thromboembolism reassessed within 24 hours of admission.
• The hospital did not achieve its referral to treatment target for urology, ear nose and throat and ophthalmology.

Updated 7 April 2020

During our inspection we visited medical care ward areas, escalation areas, and the discharge lounge. We attended meetings including bed meetings, board rounds and leadership and flow meetings.

We spoke with approximately 42 staff. This included divisional leaders, medical staff, nursing staff, therapists, pharmacy staff, the discharge team, the site team, and speciality nursing and clinical leads.

We spoke with 13 patients and five relatives to discuss their experience of the care and treatment they received.

We reviewed 14 patient records to review record keeping and consider specific areas of care and treatment. We also analysed other information, including data and trust documents.

Our rating of this service improved. We rated it as good because:

Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well.

The service controlled infection risk well.  

Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records.  

The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them. Staff collected safety information and used it to improve the service. 

Staff provided good care and treatment, gave patients enough to eat and drink, and gave them pain relief when they needed it.  

Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. 

Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, advised them on how to lead healthier lives, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information.  

Key services were available seven days a week. 

Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to patients, families and carers. 

The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of patients’ individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback.  

Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills.  

Staff understood the service’s vision and values, and how to apply them in their work.  

Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities.  

The service engaged well with patients and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually. 

Updated 12 November 2015

We rated services for children and young people services as ‘good’ for providing safe, effective, responsive and well-led services. The service was outstanding for caring.

Incidents were reported and appropriately investigated. Lessons were learnt to support improvements. Staff had an understanding to be open and transparent when things go wrong and the new regulation of Duty of Candour was being followed. Clinical areas were visibly clean and staff were following infection control procedures. Medicines were appropriately managed and stored and equipment was available and regularly tested to be fit for use.

Staff took steps to safeguard children. Children’s risks were appropriately assessed and procedures were followed to identified if their condition might deteriorate. Children with mental health problems were, however, not being assessed and supported by mental health professionals in a timely way.

Action was being taken to ensure safe nurse staffing levels. Consultants were covering middle grade doctor vacancies but this practice was not sustainable in the long term

Care and treatment was based on national guidance and evidence based practice. The services was monitoring clinical standards and participated in local and national audits. The trust scored better than the England average for diabetes and asthma outcomes.

Children and young people had good pain relief, nutrition and hydration. The hospital had received the level 3 “Baby Friendly” Accreditation in the neonatal unit in 23 July 2015 which supports parents to be partners in care.

Staff had appropriate training and were highly competent. Staff worked effectively in multi-disciplinary teams and with external providers to provide a holistic approach to care. The hospital, however, did not have sufficient inpatient paediatric physiotherapists to effectively support patients with cystic fibrosis.

Seven day services had developed for medical staff and consultants were available seven days a week.

Staff were providing a compassionate and caring service. Feedback from people who use the service, those who are close to them, was overwhelmingly positive. Children and their parents spoke of staff going “above and beyond” to provide care and keep them well informed, and of an “excellent” service. Children and their parents were involved in their care and treatment. Play leaders supported children to understand their care and reduce anxiety.

The service was being planned around managing service demands and responding to the needs and preferences of children, young people and their families. There was good access to the service, with open access for children with chronic conditions and those who had recently been discharged. There were good link with the community child health team, based in the hospital, leading to continuity and an integrated care approach. The service was meeting the needs of children with long-term chronic and life-limiting conditions by working in collaboration with other hospitals and hospices.

The trust needed to work with its partners to ensure there was a service level agreement for children and young people with mental health needs. There was support for children with a learning disability.

Governance processes appropriately managed quality and risks issues, although we did not see how risks were being escalated to the trust board. Staff were positive about the local leadership of services and demonstrated they were passionate and committed to delivering high quality, patient focused care.

There was evidence of cross site working, for example, to streamline services and share good practice although it was acknowledged that more work was required to develop consistent service across the trust.

Children and young people were encouraged to feedback ideas to improve the service

Updated 12 November 2015

We rated critical care services as ‘good’ for providing safe, effective, responsive and well-led services. The service was outstanding for caring.

There were areas of good, outstanding and innovative practice in the critical care services. Once a week the librarian attended the ward round in order to source relevant literature to assist the professional development of staff. To promote the development of the nursing team the senior nursing team and clinical educator had taken the initiative to develop a critical care career pathway for grades 5, 6 and & 7. The nursing team was split into four teams. Each team had a team away day every two months during which they had time allocated to complete mandatory training. In response to difficulties recruiting middle grade (registrar) doctors the unit had developed a two year course in Advanced Critical Care Practice (ACCP), in conjunction with Southampton University. The ward manager’s assistant had developed spread sheets that accurately monitored staff annual leave and mandatory training in a timely way and had introduced an automated text system to alert staff of shifts that needed filling. Innovative grab sheets on the unit that detailed required essential equipment needed to care for patients if the unit had to be evacuated. These included pictures of the essential equipment, so non-clinical staff such as portering staff could help collect the equipment ensuring medical and nursing care of patients was not interrupted.

There were effective risk management processes in place with processes to ensure learning from incidents was shared across the critical care units at both RHCH and BNHH.

Staffing levels and qualifications were in line with national guidance. This meant patients received care and treatment from staff who had the necessary specialist skills and experience.

Treatment and care followed current evidence-based guidelines with the exception of outreach services and critical care rehabilitation services. The risk to patients associated with not having these services was being monitored and action was being taken to try to introduce these services. The critical care services participated in national and local audits and there were good outcomes for patients. Staff had effective training, supervision and appraisal and there was good multidisciplinary working to ensure that patients’ needs were met.

Data showed that outcomes for patients were comparable with those of similar critical care units.

There was strong leadership of the critical care service across the trust and in the unit at RHCH.

There was a culture of mutual support and respect, with staff willing to help the unit at BNHH when they were short staffed. Innovative ideas and approaches to care were encouraged and supported.

Updated 12 November 2015

End of life care at this hospital was “outstanding”. We rated it ‘good’ for safe, effective and responsive services and outstanding for caring and well-led services.

End of life care at this hospital was safe and people were protected from avoidable harm and abuse. Reliable systems and process were in place to ensure the delivery of safe care.

Care and treatment was delivered in line with local and national guidance and there was a clear holistic patient-centred approach.

Staff involved and treated people with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. Feedback from patients and their families was mostly positive and we observed many examples of outstanding compassionate care.

The leadership for end of life care was strong. There were robust governance arrangements and an engaged staff culture all of which contributed to driving and improving the delivery of high quality person-centred care.

This was an innovative service with a clear vision and a strong focus on patient centred care which was supported by a board structure that believed in the importance of good end of life care for the local population.

There was good multidisciplinary working, staff were appropriately qualified and had good access to a comprehensive training programme dedicated to end of life care. However we were concerned about the uptake of mandatory training by the specialist palliative care team.

Patient outcomes were routinely monitored and where these were lower than expected comprehensive plans had been put in place to improve. However, ‘Do Not Attempt Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation’ (DNACPR) decisions were not always made appropriately and in line with national guidance.

Patient’s needs were mostly met through the way end of life care was organised and delivered. However, the rapid discharge of those patients expressing a wish to die at home did not always happen in a timely way. The specialist palliative care team identified rapid discharge as a challenge. We saw where recommendations and actions to address these audit results had been made and results had been discussed at board level.

Updated 28 January 2022

Updated 12 November 2015

We found the outpatients and diagnostic departments at RHCH were outstanding for caring and good for responsive services. The service required improvements to provide safe and well-led services.

Staff were encouraged to report incidents and the learning was shared to improve services. There had, however, been one serious incident requiring investigation of a patient lost to follow up in outpatients where clear actions had not been taken to mitigate future risks. Some of the equipment used in outpatients had not been regularly tested to ensure it was safe to use.

Staff compliance with mandatory training was good in diagnostic imaging but more outpatient staff needed to complete mandatory training.

Radiographers worked alone overnight and was responsible for covering all plain film X-rays for the main hospital and the emergency department as well as basic computerised tomography (CT) scans. Radiographers reported a heavy workload and raised manual handling issues. Between 10.00pm and 8am, radiology was supported by an overnight outsourced radiologist service. Staff identified delays in the process to authorise request and provide advice on imaging which meant delays in the patient diagnosis.

In diagnostic imaging, staff were confident in reporting ionised radiation medical exposure (IR(ME)R) incidents and followed procedures to report incidents to the radiation protection team and the care quality commission.

The environments were visibly clean and staff followed infection control procedures. Medicines were appropriately managed and stored. Patients were assessed although, Most records were available for clinics and, if not available, temporary files and test results from the electronic patient record were used. Patients were assessed and observations were performed, where appropriate. However, there was not a tool in use to identify patient’s whose condition might deteriorate. In interventional radiology there was evidence of the WHO checklist being completed and patient protocols in place

Nurse staffing levels were appropriate as there were few vacancies. There was an ongoing recruitment plan for nurses and radiographers.

There was evidence of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines being adhered to in rheumatology and ophthalmology. However, there was not a local audit programme to monitor clinical standards. Staff had access to training and had annual supervision but did not have formal clinical supervision.

Staff followed consent procedures but did not have an understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards which ensures that decisions are made in patients’ best interests.

Staff provided outstandingly good, compassionate care, and ensured patients and relatives were well-supported whilst in the department. We were informed of some exceptional compassionate care for patients, with nurses and radiography staff going the extra mile and far above and beyond of that expected. Patients were well-informed and routinely involved in the planning of their care and treatment. Staff recognised when a patient required extra support to be able to be included in understanding their treatment plans. The feedback from patients and relatives we spoke with was overwhelmingly positive, within very detailed conversations.

There was some evidence of service planning to meet people’s needs. For example, the breast unit offered access to one stop clinics where patients could see a clinician, have a biopsy and see a radiologist if required. National waiting times were met for outpatient appointments, cancer referrals and treatment and diagnostic imaging. However, the trust had a higher number of cancelled clinics, many of which were at short notice. The reasons for this varied and included cancellation for staff sickness, training and annual leave. There was a plan to address this but this was in development. Patients were not appropriately monitored to ensure the timeliness of re-appointments.

‘There was good support for patients with a learning disability or living with dementia. Patients whose first language might not be English had access to interpreters although some staff were not aware of how to access this service. The service received very few complaints and concerns were resolved locally. Staff were not aware of complaints across the trust or the learning from complaints.

The outpatient department had a strategy in development. There were plans to deliver, local consultant led services, including more one stop, nurse led and complex procedure clinics for outpatient services. Staff were not aware of how the strategy would develop in their departments and there were no immediate plans to tackle capacity issues and clinic cancellations. In diagnostic imaging there was an action plan planned to increase the skill mix of staff, the capacity of services and service integration across sites. This had had yet to be considered at divisional and trust board levels and interim actions were not specified.

Governance processes required further development in the outpatient and diagnostic department to monitor risks and quality.

Staff were not clear about the overall vision and values of the trust but told us that the patient experience and the provision of high quality care was their main concern. Nursing staff did not identify a strong leadership presence in the outpatient department and did not feel well supported. Radiographers felt well supported by their immediate line managers. They told us that they felt well supported and valued. Staff said they enjoyed working for the trust due to the strong team support from colleagues.

There were however, few examples of local innovation and improvement to services. In diagnostic imaging, a staff representative role was being introduced following to support and implement positive changes within the department that staff members themselves had recommended. Public and patient engagement occurred through feedback such as surveys and comment cards.

Updated 7 April 2020

Our rating of this service improved. We rated it as good because:

The overall completion rate for mandatory training for nursing and medical staff at the hospital had improved since the last inspection to 89% which was almost equal to the trust target of 90%.

We saw improvements which showed that medicines were being stored and managed safely and in line with legislation. Medicine fridge temperatures were consistently monitored to ensure medicines remained safe and effective.

We saw improvements which showed equipment was used correctly and was maintained. We also saw that emergency equipment was consistently checked to ensure it was fit for purpose and available when needed.

Staff in the operating theatres and treatment centre followed the World Health Organisation Surgical Safety Checklist and five steps to safer surgery and monitored this to make sure this was completed accurately. We saw the fifth step (debrief) was now completed.

We saw improvements in the leadership, governance and culture which supported the delivery of high-quality person-centred care.

The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them. Staff collected safety information and used it to improve the service.

The service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Staff understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well. The service controlled infection risk well.

Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. This was an improvement from the last inspection when risk assessments were not consistently completed.

Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, and took account of their individual needs. This was an improvement since our last inspection when patients privacy and dignity was not maintained. All patients that we spoke with during this inspection were very complimentary about the level of care they had received.

Staff provided good care and treatment, gave patients enough to eat and drink, and gave them pain relief when they needed it. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent.

The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of patients’ individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback.

The service engaged well with patients and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

The service generally met national standards for care and treatment in key areas, such as length of hospital and in national audits.

There was not an individual strategy for the surgical division. However, the key strategic aims for surgery were incorporated into the trust’s four high level strategic objectives.

However:

There was limited assurance that there was pharmacy oversight and support for wards and departments.

Level 2 adult safeguarding training compliance was below the trust target for both nurses and medical staff.

The service had not achieved its referral to treatment target for urology, ear nose and throat and ophthalmology. However, it was meeting the target for: trauma and orthopaedics and general surgery.

Patients did not have their risk of developing a venous thromboembolism reassessed within 24 hours of admission, this was not in line with national guidelines.

Appraisal rates were still below the trust target, but this was mainly due to the transition to the new online system.

The service promoted equality and diversity in daily work and provided opportunities for career development. However, trust diversity groups were in their infancy and still needed embedding.

Updated 7 April 2020

Our rating of this service improved. We rated it it as good because:

The service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect patients from abuse. The service controlled infection risk and managed medicines well. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. The service managed safety incidents effectively and learned lessons from them. Staff collected safety information and used it to improve the service. 

Staff provided good care and treatment, gave patients enough to eat and drink and gave them pain relief when they needed it. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, advised them on how to lead healthier lives, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information. Key services were available seven days a week. 

Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to patients, families and carers. 

The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of patients’ individual needs and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait too long for treatment. 

Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff understood the service’s vision and values and how to apply them in their work. Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care and were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with patients and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.