Attwaters Solicitors

An Essex NHS hospital found to have blood-splattered equipment and an unusually high death rate among patients is being investigated by health inspectors.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) and Monitor, the body charged with regulating semi-autonomous NHS foundation trusts, have demanded action by Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS foundation trust.
The move comes after an inspection last month revealed hygiene failures and raised concerns about excessive death rates.
Failures identified include:
• Floors stained with blood, resuscitation equipment more than four years out of date and what appeared to be mould growing in pieces of medical suction machines
• Six procedure trays used by staff to carry equipment when they take blood samples or give injections had blood spatter on them, a commode was soiled under the seat, and several blood pressure cuffs were stained
• Six out of 12 privacy curtains we checked were soiled, some with blood spatter. Patient trolleys had side rails that were “marked and sticky”.
• A trolley mattress with a hole in the cover; the mattress badly soiled and with a foul odour. In all, 12 mattresses were checked by trust staff and 11 were stained through to the foam.
• Tubing intended for single use only which was still attached to a ventilator after use. Other single-use items that were out of date in the accident and emergency store.
• In the clean stores there was a blood-spattered procedure tray. Four blood pressure machines were dusty. Three blood pressure cuffs were stained, including a children’s blood pressure cuff that was very heavily stained with blood.
It is the second time this year that a foundation trust has been found to have poor standards. More than 400 patients were said to have died needlessly over three years at Mid-Staffordshire NHS foundation trust due to healthcare failures.
The Basildon and Thurrock Universities Hospitals NHS foundation trust has two hospitals for about 310,000 people in south-west Essex. The largest, Basildon University hospital, has 777 beds; outpatient care is provided at Orsett hospital.
In 2004 the trust achieved foundation status, which allows greater freedom to manage finances. Basildon and Thurrock was rated “good” on quality of service in the CQC 2008-09 assessment, “excellent” for financial management, and got 13 out of 14 for cleanliness, seven out of eight for care standards and full marks for keeping the public healthy.
The CQC issued a warning notice demanding improvements on 20 October; the deadline runs out on Monday.
‘There is simply no excuse for poor hygiene standards in hospitals, especially in relation to resuscitation equipment,’ says Madeline Seibert, a partner with Attwaters and a specialist clinical negligence lawyer.
‘Sadly, this is not a unique problem to Basildon and Thurrock NHS trust. I have dealt with several cases where resuscitation tables have been poorly stocked and equipment dirty.
‘This can lead to crucial time lost in resuscitating patients, which can be avoided by taking very simple measures to ensure that there is adequate hygienic equipment to hand.
‘It is essential that these problems are addressed by the NHS. Standards must be improved so that patients receive the level of care that they can reasonably expect to receive from a hospital.’