Source · CQC inspection

Cumberland Infirmary

Provider North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust Type NHS Healthcare Organisation Region North West Last inspected 17 Jul 2018

Overall rating: Requires Improvement  View full CQC report

Domain ratings

Five CQC key questions
Safe
Requires Improvement
Effective
Requires Improvement
Caring
Good
Responsive
Requires Improvement
Well-led
Requires Improvement

Earlier inspection findings

pre-2024 framework · 55 must-do 78 should-do

Must-do actions (55)

Legal requirements based on regulation breaches identified during inspection.

Must-do action 1 of 55
Must do
Safe
The trust must improve levels of mandatory training for medical and nursing staff.
Regulation: Regulation 18 (Staffing)
⚠ Neither nursing nor medical staff were meeting mandatory training requirements with poor compliance against the trust standard of 95%. Compliance with training in immediate life support was particularly low.
Must-do action 2 of 55
Must do
Safe
The trust must ensure toys and storage solutions were cleaned thoroughly and in line with IPC guidance
Regulation: Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment)
⚠ Although the department was generally clean, we found toys were heavily soiled, there were dead insects inside an equipment cabinet and cleaning products were not stored securely. Staff were observed to not always follow hand hygiene processes.
Must-do action 3 of 55
Must do
Safe
The trust must improve the safety aspects of the designated mental health room
Regulation: Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment)
⚠ At our initial inspection, the room used to accommodate patients with mental health conditions was not fit for purpose. There were ligature points and unsuitable furniture. A second room sometimes also used had similar risks. This meant that patients with a mental health condition were at risk of harm because …
Must-do action 4 of 55
Must do
Well-led
The trust must ensure patient interactions such as initial assessment, time to treatment and decision to admit are recorded accurately on the electronic administrations system and robust validation carried out.
Regulation: Regulation 17 (Good governance)
⚠ Although data was collected and used to manage performance against local and national standards, we had some concerns about the validity and robustness of the data because it contradicted some of what we observed during our inspection.
Must-do action 5 of 55
Must do
Safe
The trust must ensure medical cover overnight is qualified to at least level ST4 with ALS training
Regulation: Regulation 18 (Staffing)
⚠ The trust was not meeting the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) standard that overnight cover should be provided by medical staff trained to a minimum of specialist trainee year four with advanced life support training. The department could not guarantee that staff providing overnight cover were trained to this …
Must-do action 6 of 55
Must do
Safe
The trust must improve identification and management of patients with time critical conditions such as sepsis, DKA and stroke.
Regulation: Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment)
⚠ We were not assured that the department identified and responded quickly enough to deteriorating patients or patients with a number of conditions including sepsis, diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and stroke. There had been a number of serious incidents in the department related to these conditions and delays in treatment.
Must-do action 7 of 55
Must do
Safe
The trust must ensure sufficient staff are trained in APLS and ALS to ensure the department has the necessary cover 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Regulation: Regulation 18 (Staffing)
⚠ Neither nursing nor medical staff were meeting mandatory training requirements with poor compliance against the trust standard of 95%. Compliance with training in immediate life support was particularly low. We were not assured that staff had undergone appropriate life support, paediatric life support and trauma life support training as per …
Must-do action 8 of 55
Must do
Safe
The trust must review nurse staffing numbers using a recognised process to ensure sufficient qualified and experienced staff are deployed to meet the needs of patients.
Regulation: Regulation 18 (Staffing)
⚠ The department had not undergone a recent assessment of nurse staffing levels to ensure that there were sufficient suitably qualified staff deployed to meet the needs of patients. Staffing levels were based on the experience of the matron rather than on a formal nurse staffing assessment tool. From our observations …
Must-do action 9 of 55
Must do
Safe
The trust must ensure practice around the management and disposal of controlled drugs is in line with trust policy and ensure the dispensing and administration of all drugs is carried out by staff in line with trust policy.
Regulation: Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment)
⚠ Medicine management within the department was not following trust policies and procedures. Controlled drugs were not checked and disposed of in line with trust policies. Storage temperatures were not checked meaning the department was not assured that medicines were being stored at their optimum temperature and staff were not following …
Must-do action 10 of 55
Must do
Effective
The trust must continue work to improve patient outcomes where the department failed to meet RCEM audit standards.
Regulation: Regulation 17 (Good governance)
⚠ The emergency department had not taken part in all Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) audits since 2015/2016. Of those they took part in, they had failed to meet all standards and in the Consultant, sign off audit, they had not met any standards.
Must-do action 11 of 55
Must do
Responsive
The trust must continue work with other wards and departments to make sure patients are moved to a ward as quickly as possible once a decision to admit has been made.
Regulation: Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment)
⚠ Flow through the department was a problem. Moving patients to beds on wards did not happen quickly and meant patients had long waits in the department from decision to admit to actual admission on a ward. The number of patients waiting more than four hours from decision to admit to …
Must-do action 12 of 55
Must do
Well-led
The trust must ensure senior staff are fully aware of the staffing position of the department including vacancies and number of staff employed and on duty.
Regulation: Regulation 17 (Good governance)
⚠ Senior departmental managers presented to us as less than confident about the staffing makeup of the department.
Must-do action 13 of 55
Must do
Well-led
The trust must ensure there is a department vision and strategy in place to ensure sustainability in the future and provide staff with information about the future direction of the department.
Regulation: Regulation 17 (Good governance)
⚠ The emergency department had no vision or strategy at the time of the inspection.
Must-do action 14 of 55
Must do
Well-led
The trust must ensure that the senior management of the trust are fully sighted on the challenges faced by frontline staff in the department.
Regulation: Regulation 17 (Good governance)
⚠ Senior clinical leadership was not visible in the department during our inspection and did not attend the department to support staff during our inspection visit to CIC.
Must-do action 15 of 55
Must do
Safe
The trust must ensure sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced persons are deployed across all divisional wards. Specifically, registered nurses to ensure safe staffing levels are maintained;
Regulation: Regulation 18 (Staffing)
⚠ Registered nurse staffing shortfalls and registered nurse vacancies persisted on all divisional wards. Several registered nurse shifts remained unfilled despite escalation processes. Nursing staff sickness was also prevalent across wards with several wards having teams that were described as “burnt out”.
Must-do action 16 of 55
Must do
Safe
The trust must ensure electronic systems which monitor acuity and staffing numbers are updated in a timely manner;
Regulation: Regulation 17 (Good governance)
⚠ The trust used SafeCare to enable coordination of staffing levels and skill mix to the actual patient demand. We saw that patient acuity was not regularly updated on the medical wards when patient complexity changed or updated following patient ward moves.
Must-do action 17 of 55
Must do
Safe
The trust must ensure patients assessed as requiring one to one support are provided with the appropriate provision of care;
Regulation: Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment)
⚠ Wards also noted that despite having patients with complex needs including those requiring one to one support that additional staff support was not available.
Must-do action 18 of 55
Must do
Safe
The trust must ensure safeguarding training levels are delivered in accordance with intercollegiate guidance;
Regulation: Regulation 18 (Staffing)
⚠ We were not assured that safeguarding training was delivered in accordance with Adult Safeguarding Levels and Competencies for healthcare, Intercollegiate guidance (2016).
Must-do action 19 of 55
Must do
Safe
The trust must ensure mandatory training targets are met by the target date;
Regulation: Regulation 18 (Staffing)
⚠ The trust submitted data prior to inspection which showed the mandatory target for nursing staff was not met for majority of the 26 mandatory courses, with the worst 34% completion
Must-do action 20 of 55
Must do
Safe
The trust must ensure there are appropriate numbers of qualified staff on the ward to improve second signatory and witness administration of intravenous medicines and controlled drug procedures;
Regulation: Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment)
⚠ There was difficulty gaining a second signature for intravenous medicines and controlled drugs. This was due to only having one nurse on a ward. This is not in line with trust policy or Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) code of practice.
Must-do action 21 of 55
Must do
Safe
The trust must ensure intravenous fluids are secured as per the trust's medicines policy;
Regulation: Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment)
⚠ Prescribing policies were not followed and on occasions staff had difficulty following controlled drug procedures due to limited staffing. Intravenous fluids were not always secured as per the trust's medicines policy.
Must-do action 22 of 55
Must do
Safe
The trust must ensure prescriptions comply with the trust prescribing policies;
Regulation: Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment)
⚠ In all of the charts we looked at we found prescriptions which did not comply with the trust prescribing policy.
Must-do action 23 of 55
Must do
Safe
The trust must ensure staff record minimum and maximum temperatures for medicines refrigerators;and,
Regulation: Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment)
⚠ We could not be assured medicines requiring cold storage had been stored at the recommended temperature and were safe to use.
Must-do action 24 of 55
Must do
Well-led
The trust must ensure actions are implemented following audit findings.
Regulation: Regulation 17 (Good governance)
⚠ A prescription audit carried out in August 2017 identified some of the issues we found on inspection, but we could not see evidence of actions taken to improve this.
Must-do action 25 of 55
Must do
Safe
The trust must ensure compliance with the completion of the WHO surgical safety checklist for every patient;
Regulation: Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment)
⚠ Audits of completion of the WHO surgical safety checklist showed completion of the checklist had been ‘poor’ and had not been completed for every patient;
Must-do action 26 of 55
Must do
Safe
The trust must ensure consistent practice and compliance across wards with trust policies regarding the management of medicines;
Regulation: Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment)
⚠ We found inconsistent practice across wards regarding the management of medicines, maximum and minimum temperatures were not recorded on wards.
Must-do action 27 of 55
Must do
Safe
The trust must ensure mandatory training compliance rates meet trust targets;
Regulation: Regulation 18 (Staffing)
⚠ The 95% target was met for only three of the 27 mandatory training modules for which qualified nursing staff were eligible and for only one of the 27 mandatory training modules for which medical staff were eligible;
Must-do action 28 of 55
Must do
Safe
The trust must ensure safeguarding training compliance rates meet trust targets and are delivered in accordance with ‘Adult Safeguarding Levels and Competencies for Healthcare.
Regulation: Regulation 18 (Staffing)
⚠ We were not assured that safeguarding training was delivered in accordance with ‘Adult Safeguarding Levels and Competencies for Healthcare, Intercollegiate guidance (2016)’;
Must-do action 29 of 55
Must do
Safe
The trust must ensure safeguarding level three training meet the standards recommended by Royal Collage of Paediatrics and Child Health intercollegiate document, which states: “Training, education and learning opportunities should be multi-disciplinary and inter-agency, and delivered internally and externally. It should include personal reflection and scenario-based discussion, drawing on case studies, serious case reviews, lessons from research and audit, as well as communicating with children about what is happening. This should be appropriate to the speciality and roles of the participants.”
Regulation: Regulation 18 (Staffing)
⚠ Safeguarding level three training did not meet the standards recommended by Royal Collage of Paediatrics and Child Health intercollegiate document. The trust had recently replaced the interactive face-to-face training with a four-hour online e-learning module. This meant medical and nursing staff did not have the opportunity to participate in scenario-based …
Must-do action 30 of 55
Must do
Safe
Improve mandatory training compliance levels for both qualified nursing and medical staff.
Regulation: Regulation 18 (Staffing)
⚠ Compliance with mandatory training targets was poor for both nursing and medical staff.
Must-do action 31 of 55
Must do
Safe
Improve safety in the designated mental health room.
Regulation: Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment)
⚠ The emergency department (ED) had a designated room for mental health assessment that did not meet Psychiatric Liaison Accreditation Network (PLAN) safety standards.
Must-do action 32 of 55
Must do
Well-led
Ensure patient interactions such as initial assessment, time to treatment and decision to admit are recorded accurately on the electronic administrations system and robust validation is carried out.
Regulation: Regulation 17 (Good governance)
⚠ Senior managers told us that it was not always possible to measure the median time from arrival to treatment accurately, as medical staff did not always write the time that they saw a patient on the paper copy of the patient record form. This meant that the data later input …
Must-do action 33 of 55
Must do
Safe
Ensure medical cover overnight is always provided by a doctor of ST4 level or above, who is trained in advanced life support (ALS) and advanced paediatric life support (APLS).
Regulation: Regulation 18 (Staffing)
⚠ Planned medical staffing was low against establishment and we were concerned about the accuracy of the method the department used to set its establishment figures.
Must-do action 34 of 55
Must do
Safe
Ensure sufficient staff are trained in ALS and APLS to ensure the department has the necessary cover 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Regulation: Regulation 18 (Staffing)
⚠ Compliance with mandatory training targets was poor for both nursing and medical staff.
Must-do action 35 of 55
Must do
Safe
Improve identification and management of patients with time-critical conditions such as sepsis, diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), and stroke.
Regulation: Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment)
⚠ There had been some serious incidents in the ED relating to delays in treatment for sepsis, diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and stroke. The trust was aware of the problems and had implemented new processes, however these were yet to be embedded.
Must-do action 36 of 55
Must do
Safe
Review nurse staffing numbers using a recognised process to ensure sufficient qualified and experienced staff are deployed to meet the needs of patients.
Regulation: Regulation 18 (Staffing)
⚠ Planned medical staffing was low against establishment and we were concerned about the accuracy of the method the department used to set its establishment figures.
Must-do action 37 of 55
Must do
Safe
Ensure practice around the management and disposal of controlled drugs is in line with trust policy and ensure the dispensing and administration of all drugs is carried out by staff in line with trust policy.
Regulation: Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment)
⚠ Medicine fridge temperature checks were not carried out consistently.
Must-do action 38 of 55
Must do
Effective
Continue work to improve patient outcomes where the department failed to meet Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) audit standards.
Regulation: Regulation 17 (Good governance)
⚠ The emergency department (ED) performed poorly in the 2015/16 Vital Signsin Children audit and again in its own re-audit and there was no evidence that its own recommendations were implemented.
Must-do action 39 of 55
Must do
Responsive
Continue work with other wards and departments to make sure patients are moved to a ward as quickly as possible once a decision to admit has been made.
Regulation: Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment)
⚠ Patients experienced long waits in the department once a decision to admit had been made. This was due to bed shortages throughout the trust, but the impact was felt within the ED.
Must-do action 40 of 55
Must do
Well-led
Ensure senior staff are fully aware of the staffing position of the department including vacancies and number of staff employed and on duty.
Regulation: Regulation 17 (Good governance)
⚠ Senior departmental managers presented to us as less than confident about the staffing make-up of the department.
Must-do action 41 of 55
Must do
Well-led
Ensure there is a department vision and strategy and provide staff with information about the future direction of the department.
Regulation: Regulation 17 (Good governance)
⚠ The department didn't have a clear vision and strategy for the future, therefore staff were not clear about the future direction of the ED.
Must-do action 42 of 55
Must do
Well-led
Ensure that the senior management of the trust are fully-sighted on the challenges faced by front-line staff in the department.
Regulation: Regulation 17 (Good governance)
⚠ Some staff we spoke with in the West Cumberland Hospital (WCH) emergency department (ED) described the senior leadership team as mostly absent from WCH ED and focused on other parts of the trust.
Must-do action 43 of 55
Must do
Safe
Ensure sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced persons are deployed across all divisional wards. Specifically, registered nurses and physicians to ensure safe staffing levels are maintained;
Regulation: Regulation 18 (Staffing)
⚠ Registered nurse staffing shortfalls and registered nurse vacancies persisted on all divisional wards. Several registered nurse shifts remained unfilled despite escalation processes. Nursing staff sickness was also prevalent across wards with several wards having teams that were described as “burnt out”.
Must-do action 44 of 55
Must do
Safe
Ensure electronic systems which monitor acuity and staffing numbers are updated in a timely manner;
Regulation: Regulation 17 (Good governance)
⚠ The electronic systems for recording staffing levels and patient acuity was not used appropriately or consistently. There were frequent difficulties recording and retrieving patient observations due to fluctuating WiFi signal on the ward.
Must-do action 45 of 55
Must do
Safe
Ensure patients assessed as requiring one to one support are provided with the appropriate provision of care;
Regulation: Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment)
⚠ Additional support was not always available for wards with more complex patient need, such as one to one support due to behavioural problems or aggressive tendencies.
Must-do action 46 of 55
Must do
Safe
Ensure safeguarding training levels are delivered in accordance with intercollegiate guidance;
Regulation: Regulation 18 (Staffing)
⚠ We were not assured that safeguarding training was delivered in accordance with Adult and Children Safeguarding Levels and Competencies for Healthcare, Intercollegiate guidance (2016).
Must-do action 47 of 55
Must do
Safe
Ensure mandatory training targets are met by the target date;
Regulation: Regulation 18 (Staffing)
⚠ Mandatory training figures were below trust target.
Must-do action 48 of 55
Must do
Safe
Ensure there are appropriate numbers of qualified staff on the ward to improve second signatory and witness administration of intravenous medicines and controlled drug procedures;
Regulation: Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment)
⚠ There was difficulty gaining a second signature for intravenous medicines and controlled drugs. This was due to only having one nurse on a ward. This is not in line with trust policy or Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) code of practice.
Must-do action 49 of 55
Must do
Safe
Ensure prescriptions comply with the trust prescribing policies;
Regulation: Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment)
⚠ In all of the charts we looked at we found prescriptions which did not comply with the trust prescribing policy.
Must-do action 50 of 55
Must do
Safe
Ensure staff record minimum and maximum temperatures for medicines refrigerators;and,
Regulation: Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment)
⚠ We could not be assured medicines requiring cold storage had been stored at the recommended temperature and were safe to use.
Must-do action 51 of 55
Must do
Well-led
Ensure actions are implemented following audit findings.
Regulation: Regulation 17 (Good governance)
⚠ A prescription audit carried out in August 2017 identified some of the issues we found on inspection, but we could not see evidence of actions taken to improve this.
Must-do action 52 of 55
Must do
Safe
Ensure compliance with the completion of the WHO surgical safety checklist for every patient;
Regulation: Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment)
⚠ Audits of completion of the WHO surgical safety checklist showed completion of the checklist had been ‘poor’ and had not been completed for every patient;
Must-do action 53 of 55
Must do
Safe
Ensure consistent practice and compliance across wards with trust policies regarding the management of medicines;
Regulation: Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment)
⚠ We found inconsistent practice across wards regarding the management of medicines, maximum and minimum temperatures were not recorded;
Must-do action 54 of 55
Must do
Safe
Ensure mandatory training compliance rates meet trust targets.
Regulation: Regulation 18 (Staffing)
⚠ The 95% target was met for only 12 of the 27 mandatory training modules for which qualified nursing staff were eligible and for only one of the 26 mandatory training modules for which medical staff were eligible;
Must-do action 55 of 55
Must do
Safe
Ensure safeguarding training compliance rates meet trust targets and are delivered in accordance with ‘Adult Safeguarding Levels and Competencies for Healthcare, Intercollegiate guidance (2016)’.
Regulation: Regulation 18 (Staffing)
⚠ We were not assured that safeguarding training was delivered in accordance with ‘Adult Safeguarding Levels and Competencies for Healthcare, Intercollegiate guidance (2016)’;

Should-do actions (78)

Recommended improvements to enhance service quality.

Should-do action 1 of 78
Should do
Safe
The trust should ensure safeguarding children level three training meets intercollegiate standards
Should-do action 2 of 78
Should do
Safe
The trust should improve staff awareness of the importance of infection prevention and control
Should-do action 3 of 78
Should do
Responsive
The trust should pursue plans to improve the paediatric waiting area
Should-do action 4 of 78
Should do
Safe
The trust should improve department assurance that staff are correctly recording NEWS and vital signs via robust clinical audit
Should-do action 5 of 78
Should do
Responsive
The trust should continue work to improve ambulance handover times
Should-do action 6 of 78
Should do
Well-led
The trust should ensure regular robust record keeping audits take place to identify areas for improvement and action taken.
Should-do action 7 of 78
Should do
Safe
The trust should monitor ambient temperature in the medicines room to ensure medication is stored at its optimum temperature.
Should-do action 8 of 78
Should do
Safe
The trust should ensure fluids are stored safely and securely to minimise the risk of errors.
Should-do action 9 of 78
Should do
Caring
The trust should ensure patients are suitable hydrated whilst waiting in the department.
Should-do action 10 of 78
Should do
Effective
The trust should ensure pain scores are reassessed and recorded
Should-do action 11 of 78
Should do
Effective
The trust should work towards improving the unplanned reattendance within seven days rate.
Should-do action 12 of 78
Should do
Well-led
The trust should ensure all staff have undergone a recent appraisal and that appraisals are of a high standard.
Should-do action 13 of 78
Should do
Caring
The trust should consider how a private space can be made available for families to spend time with a deceased relative.
Should-do action 14 of 78
Should do
Well-led
The trust should ensure staff are aware of the clear lines of management escalation in the department.
Should-do action 15 of 78
Should do
Responsive
The trust should consider how to manage patients who have long waits on trolleys in the department to ensure the risk of pressure damage is minimised and work with wards and departments to reduce the number of patients waiting more than four hours from decision to admit, to admission on a ward.
Should-do action 16 of 78
Should do
Responsive
The trust should work towards meeting the 95% four hour waiting target.
Should-do action 17 of 78
Should do
Well-led
The trust should ensure the risk register for the department accurately reflects all the risks faced by the department.
Should-do action 18 of 78
Should do
Well-led
The trust should consider developing a trust wide strategy to improve the perception of staff about the trust so more than 23% of staff would recommend the trust as a place to work.
Should-do action 19 of 78
Should do
Safe
The trust should continue to proactively recruit nursing and medical staff;
Should-do action 20 of 78
Should do
Safe
The trust should ensure staff are given time to complete all necessary mandatory training modules and an accurate record kept;
Should-do action 21 of 78
Should do
Well-led
The trust should ensure all staff can access development opportunities in line with organisational/staff appraisal objectives protecting/negotiating study time where required;
Should-do action 22 of 78
Should do
Safe
The trust should ensure best practice guidelines for medicines related documentation is reinforced to all prescribers;
Should-do action 23 of 78
Should do
Responsive
The trust should ensure minimal patient moves after 10pm;
Should-do action 24 of 78
Should do
Safe
The trust should continue to progress patient harm reduction initiatives;
Should-do action 25 of 78
Should do
Well-led
The trust should ensure the risk register is current and reflects actual risks with corresponding accurate risk rating;
Should-do action 26 of 78
Should do
Well-led
The trust should ensure all staff are aware of the divisional risk register and the associated risks;
Should-do action 27 of 78
Should do
Well-led
The trust should ensure all actions and reviews of risk ratings are documented;
Should-do action 28 of 78
Should do
Well-led
The trust should ensure ward governance files are maintained and up-to-date;
Should-do action 29 of 78
Should do
Well-led
The trust should revisit medical rota management processes for junior doctors;
Should-do action 30 of 78
Should do
Well-led
The trust should revisit modes of communications with staff;
Should-do action 31 of 78
Should do
Well-led
The trust should ensure staff involved in change management projects are fully informed of the aims and objectives of the proposal and these are implemented and concluded in appropriate time frames;
Should-do action 32 of 78
Should do
Well-led
The trust should ensure divisional leads and trust leaders promote their visibility when visiting wards and clinical areas.
Should-do action 33 of 78
Should do
Safe
The trust should ensure measures are put in place to support units where pending staffing departures will temporarily increase vulnerability;
Should-do action 34 of 78
Should do
Caring
The trust should ensure food satisfaction standards are maintained;
Should-do action 35 of 78
Should do
Well-led
The trust should ensure quality of appraisals is improved and maintained.
Should-do action 36 of 78
Should do
Responsive
The trust should ensure continued improvement in compliance with the overall referral to treatment time (RTT) for admitted pathways target for surgery and particularly for trauma and orthopaedics and ophthalmology surgical specialities;
Should-do action 37 of 78
Should do
Responsive
The trust should ensure patient information leaflets are available in different languages and formats and staff are aware how to access.
Should-do action 38 of 78
Should do
Well-led
The trust should look to develop a formal strategy for the future of maternity services.
Should-do action 39 of 78
Should do
Effective
The trust should ensure all out of date maternity guidelines and procedures are reviewed and updated.
Should-do action 40 of 78
Should do
Safe
The trust should work to ensure mandatory training rates to include safeguarding level three meet the trust target of 95%.
Should-do action 41 of 78
Should do
Safe
The trust should work towards all women receiving one to one care in labour
Should-do action 42 of 78
Should do
Safe
The trust should review the management of drugs in the community and ensure there are consistent practices across all community midwifery teams
Should-do action 43 of 78
Should do
Effective
The trust should ensure all accessible procedures and guidelines (paper and electronic) have been appropriately reviewed, include current evidence-based guidance, and are in date.
Should-do action 44 of 78
Should do
Safe
Ensure safeguarding children level3 training meets intercollegiate standards.
Should-do action 45 of 78
Should do
Safe
Improve department assurance that staff are correctly recording NEWS and vital signs via robust clinical audit.
Should-do action 46 of 78
Should do
Responsive
Continue work to improve ambulance handover times.
Should-do action 47 of 78
Should do
Effective
Ensure pain scores are reassessed and recorded at suitable intervals.
Should-do action 48 of 78
Should do
Well-led
Ensure that staff appraisals are of a high standard.
Should-do action 49 of 78
Should do
Well-led
Ensure regular, robust record-keeping audits take place to identify areas for improvement and action taken.
Should-do action 50 of 78
Should do
Safe
Monitor medicines fridge temperatures daily to ensure that medicines are safely stored.
Should-do action 51 of 78
Should do
Responsive
Consider how to manage patients who have long waits on trolleys in the department, to ensure the risk of pressure damage is minimised, and work with wards and departments to reduce the number of patients waiting more than four hours from a decision to admit to admission to a ward.
Should-do action 52 of 78
Should do
Responsive
Work towards meeting the 95% four hour waiting target.
Should-do action 53 of 78
Should do
Well-led
Ensure the risk register for the ED accurately reflects each of the risks faced by the department.
Should-do action 54 of 78
Should do
Safe
Continue to proactively recruit nursing and medical staff;
Should-do action 55 of 78
Should do
Safe
Ensure staff are given time to complete all necessary mandatory training modules and an accurate record kept;
Should-do action 56 of 78
Should do
Well-led
Ensure all staff can access development opportunities in line with organisational/staff appraisal objectives protecting/negotiating study time where required;
Should-do action 57 of 78
Should do
Safe
Ensure best practice guidelines for medicines related documentation is reinforced to all prescribers;
Should-do action 58 of 78
Should do
Responsive
Ensure minimal patient moves after 10pm;
Should-do action 59 of 78
Should do
Safe
Continue to progress patient harm reduction initiatives;
Should-do action 60 of 78
Should do
Well-led
Ensure the risk register is current and reflects actual risks with corresponding accurate risk rating;
Should-do action 61 of 78
Should do
Well-led
Ensure all staff are aware of the divisional risk register and the associated risks;
Should-do action 62 of 78
Should do
Well-led
Ensure all actions and reviews of risk ratings are documented;
Should-do action 63 of 78
Should do
Well-led
Revisit medical rota management processes for junior doctors;
Should-do action 64 of 78
Should do
Well-led
Revisit modes of communications with staff;
Should-do action 65 of 78
Should do
Well-led
Ensure staff involved in change management projects are fully informed of the aims and objectives of the proposal and these are implemented and concluded in appropriate time frames;
Should-do action 66 of 78
Should do
Well-led
Ensure divisional leads and trust leaders promote their visibility when visiting wards and clinical areas.
Should-do action 67 of 78
Should do
Safe
Ensure measures are put in place to support units where pending staffing departures will temporarily increase vulnerability;
Should-do action 68 of 78
Should do
Well-led
Ensure quality of appraisals is improved and maintained.
Should-do action 69 of 78
Should do
Safe
Ensure the continuing cover of the anaesthetic rota at West Cumberland Hospital to deliver the care model through the recruitment and retention of sufficient numbers of appropriately skilled staff;
Should-do action 70 of 78
Should do
Responsive
Ensure continued improvement in compliance with the overall referral to treatment time (RTT) for admitted pathways target for surgery and particularly for trauma and orthopaedics and ophthalmology surgical specialities;
Should-do action 71 of 78
Should do
Responsive
Ensure patient information leaflets are available in different languages and formats and staff are aware how to access them.
Should-do action 72 of 78
Should do
Safe
Ensure mandatory training rates for all staff meet the trust target of 95%.
Should-do action 73 of 78
Should do
Safe
Ensure regular cleaning audits are carried out and results are displayed.
Should-do action 74 of 78
Should do
Safe
Ensure systems and processes for the storage of medicines are standardised following best practice and adhered to across all sites and throughout the community teams.
Should-do action 75 of 78
Should do
Safe
Comply with Health and Safety Executive best practice guidance to reduce the risk of legionella in the birthing pool.
Should-do action 76 of 78
Should do
Well-led
Ensure regular audits are undertaken within the Birthing Centre in line with maternity service audits and results displayed and shared with all staff.
Should-do action 77 of 78
Should do
Well-led
Ensure a formal audit and records of themes regarding transfers to the consultant led units and record risk assessments and decisions made for all transfers.
Should-do action 78 of 78
Should do
Effective
All accessible policies and guidelines have been appropriately reviewed, include current evidence-based guidance, and are in date.

Location details

CQC ID: RNLAY
Local authority: Cumberland
Region: North West

Inspection report

Type: Inspection report
Date: 17 July 2018
Rating: Requires improvement
Actions: 55 must-do 78 should-do
AI-extracted 3 Jun 2026