C4 News: Elderly care standards - 3 health trusts break law

 The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published the first 12 reports from an England-wide inspection programme into standards of care at 100 hospitals.

 
Three health trusts have broken the law when it comes to providing older people with essential standards of care on dignity and nutrition. There were concerns about another three.
 
The CQC told Channel 4 News it estimates up to a fifth of all hospitals could be failing the elderly on basic standards of nutrition and dignity.
 
The Alexandra Hospital in Worcestershire, Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust and the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead were seriously criticised.
 
At the Alexandra inspectors expressed "major" concerns about nutrition.
 
Staff said they sometimes had to prescribe drinking water on medication charts to "ensure people get regular drinks".
 
At the Royal Free Hospital inspectors found staff did not always make sure people had enough to eat and drink.
 
While many patients got help with eating, some did not and had their trays taken away, and staff rarely asked patients if they had enough to drink.
 
In Ipswich inspectors found patients left in night clothes all day and not always taken to the toilet away from where they slept.
 
Records were not always up-to-date, and staff spoke among themselves when caring for patients rather than to the patient.
 
Staff reported being too busy and over-stretched to provide the care they wanted to, inspectors noted.
 
Less major concerns were found at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in London, Homerton University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in London and the Wye Valley NHS Trust.
 
Read more by following this link:
http://www.channel4.com/news/elderly-care-standards-three-health-trusts-break-law
 
Added 27th May 2011