The Princess Alexandra Hospital’s emergency department has been given the lowest possible rating by the national watchdog for care after inspectors found staff were not ‘consistently’ wearing PPE.
Care Quality Commission inspectors undertook an unannounced inspection of the Harlow hospital in February of this year.
The focused inspection of the emergency department found staff were not following infection prevention and control policy or consistently wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) and the service was rated Inadequate.
Inspectors added they were worried for patient safety due to a lack of suitable facilities for Covid-19 positive patients.
At the time of inspection, the rate of infection in Harlow – expressed as the number of new cases per 100,000 people – was above 130.
In response to the pandemic, the trust re-configured the emergency department, implementing ‘red’ and ‘amber’ areas; red areas for high risk Covid-19 patients and amber areas for patients not showing symptoms and those with negative Covid test results.
Inspectors reported witnessing medical and nursing staff wearing incorrect PPE and moving between red and amber areas without changing PPE.
Inspectors wrote: “We challenged one nurse who was about to enter the area without the appropriate PPE. They told us the poster was displayed in error but did not remove it. We were concerned that staff would ignore the poster in future, believing it to be displayed in error.”
The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust did not offer an answer when quizzed by The Epping Forest Guardian on what was being done to ensure correct PPE usage and patient safety during the coronavirus pandemic.
The department was also criticised for lacking enough staff with the right qualifications, skills, training and experience to keep patients safe.
On average 20 per cent of nursing shifts were not filled between November 2020 and January 2021.
During the inspection, CQC inspectors were told that security staff had supported a mental health patient with showering.
The trust insisted the security staff member had received safeguarding training, had disclosure and barring service (DBS) checks and had not entered the shower with the patient.
But CQC inspectors said they “were not assured that this was adequate to keep the patient safe.”
The CQC report did note that staff at the hospital “felt respected, supported and valued”.
Lance McCarthy, chief executive, The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, said: “Our urgent and emergency teams continually strive to provide excellent care for patients, and they have already put in place improvements and additional support following the inspection.
"Whilst we are pleased the CQC noted our team were focused on patients’ needs and that there was a stable leadership team in place, we know there is more to do and we are committed to continue our work to better support patients and their loved ones.”
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