The dead patient was left in the ward for 5 hours under Covid’s pressure

The dead patient was left in the ward for hours, and another died after falling in a hospital suffering from staffing problems during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A new report on care at the Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Britain’s largest university hospital, which was particularly hit by the latest coronavirus wave, revealed the effects of a pandemic.

A series of Care Quality Commission (CQC) reports highlight how deceased patients were left in the ward for almost five hours and were not transferred due to low staff levels.

In part of the trust, nurses were caring for up to 17 patients.

Inspectors also emphasized the issues surrounding infection control after hearing reports of patients whose Covid-19 was not stationed in a ward with Covid-positive patients.

Patients who died at Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield, one of the hospitals operated by the Trust, were “not necessarily transferred from the ward in a timely manner,” a CQC inspector said.

“In Ward 8, the patient died at 6:45 am and at 11:35 am, due to the small number of staff, the patient was either not completed in the final clinic or was transferred from the ward. I didn’t, “said the report.

“This was reported by some staff and it caused them pain.”

The document also highlights how another patient died and the other patient was harmed after the possibility of an avoidable fall.

The inspection report states: “An example of a fall that could be avoided due to low staff was provided.

“In Ward 11, the patient fell and died after being injured.

“At the time of autumn, the ward was understaffed and all staff were busy with other patients.

“The research report was created as a result of emphasizing staffing as a concern.”

CQC inspectors conducted unannounced tests at three trust-operated hospitals on December 2 and 9, 2020.

Other findings are as follows.

– This service did not have enough nursing staff to keep patients safe. The ratio of some nurses to patients was 1:17 at the time of the examination.

– Staff spoke to inspectors about patients infected with Covid-19 during hospitalization and felt that this was related to “site management and patient assignment to wards”. For example, some patients screened for Covid-19 negative were placed in a Covid positive ward.

– In one ward visited on the second day of the examination, the rotor now has an appropriate number of nurses called “luxury”, even though the number of medical assistants on duty on the day was less than planned. did. Staff level.

– The shortage of staff meant that some patients had to wait for support to eat.

– Staff worked frequently “hours” beyond the 12-hour shift to ensure patient safety.

– Some of the patient’s relatives “come directly to the hospital to complain” after expressing concern that they would not get the latest information about their loved ones in a timely manner.

– Some relatives complained that the patient was discharged “in worse condition than when he was admitted”.

– Concerns were expressed about cognitive decline in patients with dementia – Relatives were unable to visit, staff were busy, and were largely restricted to providing basic daily care and treatment rather than psychological stimulation.

Inspectors also expressed concern about the placement of nurses at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital and Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.

CQC has made trust recommendations, including ensuring that nurse staffing is sufficient to keep patients safe and improving venous thromboembolism care.

A spokesperson for the University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust said: “Several issues were raised in the report, all recognized before the inspection.

“As of the tests performed on December 2 and 9, 2020, Trust and our excellent staff took 10 months to pandemic with more than 450 Covid inpatients on the day of the test. In the meantime, the number of Covid inpatients increased to 1,054 in January.

“During the most difficult times in NHS history, our staff’s efforts to provide care to well over 11,000 Covid inpatients now remain extremely extraordinary. It remains ours. It remains the focus. “