Charity applauds hospital’s improvement

Age Scotland has welcomed the recent announcement by Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) that progress in being made by NHS Tayside in addressing issues uncovered during an announced inspection of Ninewells Hospital in Dundee last September.

Tweet

The inspectors had raised concerns about how NHS Tayside provided care to vulnerable older people in the hospital's acute medical assessment unit. Issues emerging included patients' privacy and dignity being compromised due to the mixed sex facility, the lack of space in the unit, curtains that were too short and the busy nature of the unit.

The inspectors said they saw patients waiting on trolleys and in wheelchairs in the unit corridor and had been told by patients that they waited in the acute medical assessment unit for a long time.

They also found that screening for cognitive impairment was not routinely carried out in patients over 65 years when they were admitted to hospital, risk assessments for nutritional care and hydration were not accurately carried out within 24 hours of admission and that mealtimes were not always protected and appeared to be poorly organised on some wards.

Following the recent unannounced inspection, HIS says the number of beds in the unit has increased and the unit is being redesigned to better assess and meet the needs of patients and improve the capacity and patient flow through the unit.

HIS' Chief Inspector, Susan Brimelow, said that in the inspection last September there were areas in which Ninewells Hospital was performing well in providing care to older people, such as the ward environment for people with dementia or a cognitive impairment.

She said: "Our unannounced follow-up inspection has assured us that progress is being made to address the issues we identified and that actions are being taken to improve the care provided to patients in this unit."

Age Scotland spokesman Lindsay Scott said: "We are heartened that NHS Tayside has acted promptly to address the issues raised by the HIS inspectors and expect it to continue making improvements in the areas identified as a matter of priority."