Clatterbridge Hospital

Updated 31 March 2020

Clatterbridge Hospital is a general hospital located on Clatterbridge Health Park in Bebington, Wirral, England. It is managed by Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Services at the hospital include surgical services, medical rehabilitation tougher with some out patient services.

The hospital is located on the Wirral peninsula and serves the people of Wirral and neighbouring areas.

Updated 31 March 2020

• Not all facilities and premises were appropriate for the rehabilitation services being delivered.   The therapy room was small and there was no designated activity room for patients to help with rehabilitation goals. There were times when the environment was cold for patients on the wards.
• There were times then services did not work effectively with others in the wider system and other local organisations to plan care. People could not always access the service when they needed it and care and treatment was not always provided promptly.  We found that waiting times from referral to treatment were consistently lower than national standards. The average length of stay was higher than the England average for certain services. There was also a higher than expected relative risk of readmission for some services and discharges were delayed.

• We found there was little ownership of risk and actions despite systems being in place to manage performance.

• We found that staff were not aware of a robust system for tracking and monitoring deprivation of liberty safeguard applications.
• There were no leaflets available on the wards about health awareness and support groups to aid health promotion.

However,

• Staff had training and understood how to protect children, young people and families from abuse and the service worked well with other agencies to do so. Staff also had mandatory training and completed this to help keep protect patients.
• The service controlled infection risk well. Staff used equipment and control measures to protect patients, themselves and others from infection. They kept equipment and the premises visibly clean.  
• Staff completed and updated risk assessments for each patient and removed or minimised risks. We found that staff had the ability to assess and respond to patient risk and were aware of who to contact if deterioration occurred.

Updated 10 March 2016

Staffing was generally sufficient across the wards we inspected. However, there were some concerns regarding the number of staff on duty at night on the rehabilitation unit. There were also concerns about how a patient whose health was deteriorating would be transferred to the acute hospital site as there were no protocols in place to support this. Incidents were reported but not all staff were aware of lessons learnt or improvements that had been made following investigations. There were governance structures in place. However, some risks on the register had been there since 2012 and had not been managed in a timely way to lower the risk. Multi-disciplinary team meetings were not held on regular basis. All staff knew the trust vision but were unaware of the strategy for medical services. Care and treatment was provided in line with national and best practice guidelines. Patients received compassionate care and their privacy and dignity were maintained. Patients were involved in their care, and were provided with appropriate emotional support. The service took into account the needs of the local people and had a lot of systems in place to meet the needs of patients living with a cognitive impairment, such as dementia.

Updated 10 March 2016

There were significant staff vacancies across the whole trust in diagnostic and imaging services. The service failed to meet the national target in July and August 2015 for referral to treatment times. In addition, the trust failed to meet their internal target for urgent reporting of plain x-rays between April 2015 and August 2015. There were a large number of clinic appointments cancelled due to the process in place for rebooking appointments. Managers had plans to implement a partial booking system to reduce cancellation of appointments and to offer patients more choice. Some clinical governance measures were in place for radiology however, there had been no radiation safety committee meetings since September 2012. Patients were treated in a dignified and respectful way by caring and committed staff. There was a clear process for reporting and investigating incidents and staff received feedback. Records were available for 99% of outpatient appointments. Mandatory Training was well attended and staff were aware of their role and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding.

Updated 10 March 2016

Medicines were well managed and appropriately stored. Patient records were clear, legible and up to date. There were low rates of avoidable harm including infections and pressure ulcers. The auditing of care and treatment was undertaken on regular basis. Patients were treated with kindness, dignity and compassion and their relatives were involved in their care and treatment. The service took into account the needs of the local population. Complaints were well managed. The service was responsive to patient needs and had repurposed a clinical area into a flat in order to prepare patients and their families for discharge. Local ward managers and matrons were visible and known to staff. Staff did not always report incidents because of a lack of training on how to use the system. Medical staffing was sufficient to meet patient need during the day time but not out of hours because there was only one doctor to cover the whole hospital out of hours and the doctor was of a medical, not surgical speciality. There were also concerns about how a patient whose health was deteriorating would be transferred to the acute hospital site as there were no protocols in place to support this. The environment and equipment were visibly clean and equipment was well maintained. However, there were two unsecured doors which led directly from ward areas which presented a risk to patients who may leave the ward or from visitors entering undetected.