Royal Cornwall Hospital told to make improvements after safety concerns raised
Inspectors have told the Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske to make improvements in its medical wards.
The Care Quality Commission was called in because of worries over the safety and quality of services and, in a report, warned the lack of staffing is hitting morale.
The overall CQC rating for the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust (RCHT), which runs the site, remains 'requires improvement overall'.
The report states: "The service did not always have enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe.
"Staff were offered training in key skills, but due to pressures on the service, they did not always have time to complete it. Not all records relating to patients' care had been completed in full."
The inspectors said some patients weren't getting the best care: "People did not always receive the right care promptly due to pressures on bed capacity."
The report concluded: "Morale was low for some staff in the service due to the significant and unrelenting pressures which had been ongoing for a long time and staff shortages."
However, inspectors did praise staff for their hard work trying to overcome the challenges.
The report added: "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."
In response, the hospital said it has recruited an additional 40 registered nurses and more than 20 healthcare support workers.
"We welcome the Care Quality Commission’s report which acknowledges the excellent care provided by our staff amid the continued pressures our hospitals have been experiencing for many months," a spokesperson said.
"The ongoing operational challenges of large numbers of our hospital beds occupied by patents who are medically fit to go home but waiting for social care support or to go to nursing homes, has significantly impacted on our services.
"It has also impacted on staff morale and it was heartening to receive the feedback from patients who remarked on the care and compassion of our staff.
“Since the Inspection in September we have appointed just under 40 additional registered nurses and more than 20 healthcare support workers to join our medical speciality teams. Improving our staffing levels will help to free up time for mandatory and specialist training and to support our ward leaders in nurturing open and supportive cultures within their teams.
“Extra beds and assessment spaces have recently opened in the new frailty and same day emergency care unit at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, and we continue to work with our health and care system partners as they seek to create additional capacity in community-based services.
“Our focus on recruitment continues and we have a brilliant range of roles on offer for those who are already qualified and equally so for those who have no experience but who want to open the door to a career in health and care at RCHT and the wider system.”