Sheppey Community Hospital

We rated this location as good because:

• Staff assessed and managed patient risks well. The provider had a robust safeguarding process and we saw examples of collaborative working with other agencies such as the police and social services to safeguard people from harm. Staff managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.
• The service controlled infection risk well. There were hand hygiene stations across the hospital to enable all staff and visitors entering the ward to utilise this and reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19.
• Staff provided good care and treatment. Staff in the community wards ensured that patients had enough to eat and drink. The community adults team assessed patients to ensure their dietary and hydration needs were being met.
• Staff across the services ensured patients had pain relief when they needed it. Managers monitored the effectiveness of their services and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, advised them on how to lead healthier lives, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information.
• 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, families and carers. Patients were very positive about the care and treatment they received and praised staff highly.
• The provider planned care to meet the needs of local people and took account of patients’ individual needs. It was easy for people to give feedback and the patients we spoke with told us they felt confident to raise concerns about the care received.
• Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff understood the service’s vision and values and felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities.

However;

• Staff did not always keep up to date with their mandatory training. Managers told us that they were reminding staff to complete their mandatory training, and some of the face to face training had been rescheduled due to lack of trainers.
• Managers and team leaders did not ensure that clinical supervision was always documented in line with policy. Some staff from the community inpatient service reported that they received one-to-one meetings with their managers on an ad-hoc basis.
• The ward environment on Harty ward did not provide enough space for the safe storage of large equipment, such as hoists, which were stored on a corridor within the ward and created both a trip and evacuation hazard for any patients located in the side room off this corridor.
• Staff did not ensure that patient records on Harty ward were stored securely. Patient notes were stored as paper files in trolleys on the ward. Staff told us that the trolleys were not locked due to a lack of keys. This meant that patient information were not secure.
• Harty ward was not entirely dementia friendly so patients could not always orientate themselves.
• The day room designed to provide a comfortable space for patients away from their bedside, was uninviting, and lacked any comfort or appeal.
• Staff did not ensure that patients’ identifiable information were stored securely on Harty ward. Patient notes were stores as paper files in trolleys on the wards which were unlocked.
• Staff did not ensure that the maximum daily dosage for some medicines such as paracetamol was recorded in patients’ medicines administration chart on Harty ward.
• The continence team did not have a bladder scanner. Although staff informed us that there was a purchase order for a bladder scanner, the teams have been without a bladder scanner for over two months.
• Some services such as the podiatry service and speech and language therapy had a high waiting list, which meant that people might not always be able to access the services when they needed them.
• There was not always enough nursing and support staff on Harty ward to cover shifts. Staff, patients and their relatives told us that staffing was sometimes stretched.