CQC says still room for improvement

Late last year the CQC spurred Basildon and Thurrock University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust into action after they raised concerns about infection prevention and control.

By the end of December the regulator said it was satisfied that the trust had taken measures to address their concerns and that they were now meeting minimum hygiene standards, but they warned that they must continue to make improvements and that there would be further checks.

When the CQC first voiced their concerns they listed a number of worries regarding the hospital’s A&E;department which included a poor care environment, inadequate arrangements for treating children and poor nursing care. They also highlighted concerns about leadership on these issues, breaches of infection control standards and the high mortality rates for emergency admissions. The quality of emergency care remains a primary concern for the CQC and they said that they would continue to carry out checks in this area.

The regulator, which made its concerns public on 27th November 2009, also shared its findings with foundation trust regulator, Monitor, who then put a taskforce in place to speed up improvements at the hospital. The two organisations continue to work together closely on this matter. When the CQC carried out an unannounced follow-up inspection on 4th December they were pleased to find that the trust had met the requirements of a warning notice issued in October. The trust is therefore now meeting the minimum requirements for infection prevention and control. This month will see a review of evidence concerning the A&E;department with further unannounced inspections due to take place.

The trust has taken several measures to raise their standards for prevention and control of infection and Cynthia Bower, CQC chief executive, said: “I am pleased to see the trust has taken action to improve in the area of infection control. It is now meeting the minimum requirements in this area and this is an encouraging start. The trust has begun on a journey but it has not yet arrived. It now needs to respond to the remaining concerns we have raised in other key areas. We will be checking closely to ensure everything is put right, and we will not stop until this is done.”

For anyone in the care environment aiming to meet National Care Standard requirements, we offer an Infection Control training course which covers topics such as causes of infection, universal precautions, and immunity, as well as explaining the relevant legislation. Mike Mulcahy, Head of Curriculum, explains: “It is imperative that those in the care sector address issues of infection control on behalf of their service users. People working in healthcare should undertake the necessary training to understand the pathways of infection and how they can help to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.”

We also offer E-learning training which deals with the control of more specific illnesses, so you can choose the training that is most relevant to your organisation. For further information on our Infection Control or other in-house training courses, or to hear more about any of our 40 E-learning titles, please call us today.