Archived: Spire Tunbridge Wells Hospital

Our key findings were as follows:

• The overall leadership was good. The senior management team were visible, had good oversight of governance and continually strove for improvement. They rewarded good performance by the staff and fostered a culture of transparency and openness. This was also reflected in local leadership at departmental level.

• The cleanliness of the hospital was good and this was reflected in their infection control policies, processes and infection rates.

• Staffing levels were well monitored and provided a high standard of care despite challenges in recruitment. Staff turnover was low and was mainly due to staff progressing to more senior roles.

• Mortality rates were low

• The hospital took a lot of care in monitoring nutrition and hydration levels. It was evident that the care taken to ensure that patients who had a diminished appetite, due to being unwell, were provided with alternatives to ensure that nutrition was good to facilitate their recovery.

• Spire Healthcare is finalising with NHS England its approach to report Workforce Equality Standard (WRES) data. The hospital was able to provide local information to demonstrate it reviews the ethnicity of its workforce.

We saw several areas of outstanding practice including:

• The hospital had systems and processes in place that supported staff in providing a good service.

• The catering department met both patients and staff individual requirements, and visited with patients daily.

• The leadership from the senior management team was described as approachable, available and visible.

• Patients and their families were cared for by kind and compassionate staff who went out of their way to support them.

• Two-hourly patient “quality rounds” on the ward, led by the nurse-in-charge.

• Regular scenario-based training to ensure staff responded appropriately to emergency situations was undertaken.

However, there were also areas of where the provider needs to make improvements.

The provider should:

• Ensure that if a patient declines a chaperone this is recorded in the patient’s notes for inpatients, in line with hospital policy.

• Consider making the layout of some rooms on the ward more accessible for wheelchair users.

• Consider providing training to ward staff to help them better meet the needs of physically disabled patients.

• Consider using observational hand hygiene audits to monitor hand washing.

• Ensure dedicated hand hygiene sinks in patient bedrooms are included when carrying out refurbishment in accordance with the Department of Health’s Health Building Note 00-09.

• The hospital should progress Joint Advisory Group (JAG) accreditation for endoscopy services.