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Care Services

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Bedford Hospital, Bedford.

Bedford Hospital in Bedford is a Hospital specialising in the provision of services relating to assessment or medical treatment for persons detained under the 1983 act, diagnostic and screening procedures, family planning services, management of supply of blood and blood derived products, maternity and midwifery services, nursing care, personal care, services for everyone, surgical procedures, termination of pregnancies, transport services, triage and medical advice provided remotely and treatment of disease, disorder or injury. The last inspection date here was 4th December 2018

Bedford Hospital is managed by Bedford Hospital NHS Trust.

Contact Details:

Ratings:

For a guide to the ratings, click here.

Safe: Requires Improvement
Effective: Requires Improvement
Caring: Good
Responsive: Good
Well-Led: Requires Improvement
Overall:

Further Details:

Important Dates:

    Last Inspection 2018-12-04
    Last Published 2018-12-04

Local Authority:

    Bedford

Link to this page:

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Inspection Reports:

Click the title bar on any of the report introductions below to read the full entry. If there is a PDF icon, click it to download the full report.

13th March 2013 - During an inspection to make sure that the improvements required had been made pdf icon

We carried out an inspection of Bedford Hospital on 13 March 2013, to review improvements made to the areas we had previously identified concerns with. As part of our inspection, we visited a number of ward areas, spoke with a range of staff in these areas and also spoke with a number of patients and people’s relatives.

We found the trust had made a number of improvements since our inspection in December 2012, related to the assessment and planning of people’s care, as well as the processes for monitoring the quality of care provided.

Everyone we spoke with who used the service said they were happy with the care, and that they found staff were caring. Several people told us that staff were “wonderful”. Others said they couldn’t fault the staff, and whilst they saw staff were busy and often ‘stretched’, they said the care was very good.

Staff we spoke with told us they had been made aware of concerns raised from our previous inspection. They said that a lot of work had been done by the senior management and matrons to support staff and drive improvements. The majority of staff told us they were happy with the improvements made and felt they were able to deliver better care to people due to new processes for planning and assessing care and people’s needs.

27th December 2012 - During an inspection to make sure that the improvements required had been made pdf icon

We visited Bedford Hospital NHS Trust on 27 December 2012 to monitor improvements from concerns we identified at our inspection in July 2012.

We found changes had been made within the trusts executive team, including the recent appointment of a new Director of Nursing. New systems had been developed and implemented, particularly related to governance and quality assurance processes, and early signs showed these were having a positive impact on the trusts improvement journey. However they were not yet fully embedded in practice and more work was needed to ensure the trust was meeting all standards of quality and safety.

We visited three inpatient areas, the Accident and Emergency Department and also the paediatric assessment unit; we spoke with a number of patients and relatives in each area. People were complimentary of staff, although said the nurses were often very busy and overstretched. One person said “The staff are fantastic and the place is clean”. Another said “Lots of doctors have talked to me about what is wrong and what they are doing. Staff are very nice and friendly.”

However, in the acute assessment unit, people told us that they felt the unit was ‘chaotic’ as staff were so busy, with “so many patients coming and going”. We observed this during our visit, with many people standing around trying to get information. However, people did tell us that when they received the care, it was generally good, but was often delayed as the unit was so busy.

31st July 2012 - During a routine inspection pdf icon

During our inspection of Bedford Hospital on 24, 26 and 27 July 2012, we visited many areas including Accident and Emergency, surgical and medical wards, short stay assessment areas, radiology, the discharge lounge, outpatients and maternity. We spoke with over 40 patients and 10 peoples' relatives, the majority of who told us they had had a positive experience during their attendance to the hospital. Most people told us they were very happy with the care and treatment they had received and spoke highly of the hospital and staff.

People who had attended the outpatients department told us they usually experienced delays with clinics starting late, delays in being seen at their appointment time, and they did not have a choice about their appointment times. At the time of our visit, we noted two people had waited 45 minutes beyond their original appointment time. However, one person told us they had some choice in their appointment time and the nurses in one clinic were “fantastic”.

21st March 2012 - During a themed inspection looking at Termination of Pregnancy Services pdf icon

We did not speak to people who used this service as part of this review. We looked at a random sample of medical records. This was to check that current practice ensured that no treatment for the termination of pregnancy was commenced unless two certificated opinions from doctors had been obtained.

20th October 2011 - During a routine inspection pdf icon

We spent time in ten different departments of the main hospital and all areas of the maternity department. We spoke with a number of people who were either patients, or the friends or relatives of people who were patients at the time of this review.

On the whole the people with whom we spoke were pleased with the care and support that they received whilst in hospital and with the way in which the staff approached their care and treatment needs. They felt that staff took time to explain what was happening to them and to answer any questions they had about their condition or treatment plans. People felt that they received enough information to help them make informed choices about their treatment options and the about the focus of the care they wanted to receive.

They told us that they had consented to their treatment and fully understood what was to happening before the treatment commenced.

In the maternity department mothers told us that their delivery options were discussed with them and although they made decisions about the care they wanted this was flexible and any recommended or necessary changes were discussed with them.

People commented on how busy staff were but they did not feel that this impacted on the care provided.

Patients were satisfied with their meals. They told us they were given a daily sheet from which to make a choice. One person said that the was much better than previously.

In the maternity department people told us that their care appeared streamlined and that the midwives who visited them at home knew about their situation.

Patients we spoke with during the visit were very complimentary about the standard of cleanliness in all areas of the hospital.

We were told that pain relief was offered during medication rounds and that it could be requested outside these times.

Patients considered that there were adequate numbers of staff available and that in general they responded quickly to requests for help. People were aware of how they could complain about the care and services provided by the hospital.

14th April 2011 - During a themed inspection looking at Dignity and Nutrition pdf icon

Many patients told us that they were satisfied with the care and treatment they received at Bedford hospital, however others told us they were not. Several people said that most of the time they were treated with courtesy and respect, and that their privacy and dignity had been protected, but again this was not the experience of everyone. This is captured in a number of comments made to us:

‘This is the best hospital I have been in, and I have been to three before this one’.

‘Excellent hospital’.

‘I have no complaints at all’.

‘I was in AAU before here and they didn’t pull the curtain’.

‘It depends which staff are on as to whether I get the care I should’.

‘Staff say they will be back but they forget, and then I have to ring the bell again’.

Some patients told us they felt their nutritional needs and dietary preferences were met. They gave positive feedback about the quality, range and availability of food. Other patients told us that they were not satisfied with the quality of food or choices available. Comments made included:

‘Good choices, really good’.

‘Good choice, nice food’.

‘The nurses make me toast here on the ward’.

‘Bland’.

‘I never get any salt and pepper’.

6th April 2011 - During an inspection in response to concerns pdf icon

We did not ask for the views of people who use the service as part of this review.

We spoke with a number of staff, on several different wards, in both children’s and adults’ services during our visit on 20 May 2011. We found that staff had varying levels of knowledge, experience and training.

We found that some staff were very knowledgeable about safeguarding procedures and protocols, what to look out for and how and to whom to report any concerns. Others were less clear.

6th January 2011 - During an inspection in response to concerns pdf icon

During our visit, we met with seven of the 11 people who were receiving care within the minor and major treatment areas of the accident and emergency department. We also spoke with one relative and members of staff.

Records showed that at the time of our visit a very low number of people had presented for treatment in comparison to other times. Staff told us “this was unusual”. Therefore the feedback from people on their experience within the department should take this into account.

We asked three people receiving care within the minor treatment section, if they had been able to get anything to eat or drink. They told us that they had not been in the department long enough to want anything. They also told us that they had seen vending machines and would have used them if they had wanted to.

Another person with their relative told us that they had not been offered anything to eat or drink. The person was about to be moved to another area in the hospital, and had been in the department under three hours. During that time staff explained that an assessment of their medical needs had been made, part of this was to determine if they would need a test or procedure that would be better carried out, if the person had not had anything to eat or drink before it. However staff had not explained this to the person or their relative.

When asked about the environment four people told us that they found the department warm and comfortable. We specifically asked people if they felt cold at anytime; everyone with whom we spoke said that they were comfortable.

We noted that when people were shown to an assessment cubicle, staff asked if they wanted the curtains drawn around them to give additional privacy.

The reception area was warm and comfortable with adequate seating and available wheelchairs. The entrance area had suitable toilet facilities that included accessibility for people using a wheelchair and children’s play area. They were clearly signed and were clean and well maintained. There were sufficient numbers of small hand basins with gel, soap and hot water sited in appropriate parts of the unit

During our visit, people told us that they felt that there were sufficient numbers of staff on duty. Overall people who were being treated in the accident and emergency department told us that their experience was positive. They found that staff were attentive, approachable and informative. Most people were very satisfied with their treatment and the experience of being a patient in the department.

One person said, “my family have needed to use this place in the past, I am very happy with my treatment both then and today”. Another person told us, “ I got here at about 10 and was seen within 10 minutes, the staff have been great, I didn’t have to wait to see a doctor or nurse”

10th May 2010 - During an inspection to make sure that the improvements required had been made pdf icon

This section was not completed for this inspection. More information about what we found during the inspection is available in the report below.

1st January 1970 - During a routine inspection pdf icon

At this inspection, we inspected urgent and emergency services, surgery, outpatients, maternity and children and young people services. We did not inspect medical care, critical care or end of life care services at this inspection, but we combine the last inspection ratings to give the overall rating for the hospital.

Our rating of services stayed the same. We rated it them as requires improvement because:

  • Our rating for safe remained requires improvement because not all services achieved appropriate staffing levels or ensured mandatory training was completed. Medicines were not always managed safely and services did not always control infection risks well.
  • Our rating for effective remained requires improvement because there was variable performance in some national audits monitored and not all services monitored the effectiveness of pain relief. Some policies and guidance had expired review dates and not all staff received an annual appraisal.
  • Our rating for caring remained good because feedback from patients confirmed they were treated with compassion and offered emotional support. Patients and their families were involved in decisions made about their care and treatment.
  • Our rating for responsive improved. We rated it good because patients could access services when they needed them. Waiting times from referral to treatment were mostly better than the England average. Complaints were treated seriously and lessons learnt were shared with staff.
  • Our rating for well led remained requires improvement because not all managers had the necessary skills for their role and timely action was not always taken to address concerns. Risk registers were not always updated. Some staff reported a bullying and intimidation culture from the senior leadership team, whilst others reported they felt respected and valued by the team.

 

 

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