CQC rates medical care and urgent and emergency care services at Arrowe Park Hospital as "requires improvement"

The Care Quality Commission has published two reports following inspections of medical care and urgent and emergency services at Wiral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in May.

Arrowe Park Hospital is one of two hospital sites managed by Wirral University Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

CQC carried out the inspection after receiving information of concern about these two services. As a result of the inspection, the overall rating for medical care has dropped from good to requires improvement whilst urgent and emergency care services remain as requires improvement.

Both services has dropped from good to requires improvement.

Following the inspections:

• In medical services CQC has downgraded the rating of responsive from good to requires improvement. Caring, effective and well-led have been rated as good again, and safe has been rated requires improvement again.
• In urgent and emergency services CQC has downgraded the ratings of caring and well-led from good to requires improvement. Safe and responsive are rated requires improvement again, and effective is rated good again.

In medical services at Arrowe Park Hospital inspectors found:

• Leaders had implemented an action plan to decrease the high number of inpatient falls and hospital acquired pressure ulcers.
• The service didn’t always have enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff due to shortfalls in mandatory training in some staff groups.
• Senior leaders acknowledged that patient flow was one of the biggest challenges within the hospital with bed occupancy being regularly above 95%.
• Staff were described by people as kind and caring, whilst working under significant pressure.
• Staff knew how to identify adults and children at risk of, or suffering, significant harm and worked with other agencies to protect them.

In urgent and emergency services at Arrowe Park Hospital inspectors found:

• People were frequently treated in unsuitable and unsafe areas, including corridors, with little privacy or dignity.
• Leaders had improved staffing levels; however, numbers didn’t always meet demand within the department which could place people at risk.
• The safeguarding team was approachable, and staff were familiar with the process and who the designated safeguarding nurse is if any incidents occurred.
• The service provided care bags containing sensory aids (eye mask, headphones, and fidget tools) for autistic people and people with disabilities.

The report will be published on CQC’s website in the next few days.