CQC has imposed an urgent legal restriction on the registration of Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, preventing the use of the day surgical unit at Pinderfields Hospital for patient stays in excess of 23 hours.
The action follows an unannounced visit to the hospital by inspectors in September in response to concerns received that the specialist day unit was being used to provide longer term care, without the resources necessary to support this type of service. CQC found that a number of patients had stayed on the day surgery unit for over 24 hours during July and August 2012. In some cases patients had stayed on the unit for four days or longer. There was no direct access to washing facilities on the unit and patients were washing from disposable cardboard bowls. Malcolm Bower-Brown, deputy director of CQC in the North said: “The failings on this unit were completely unacceptable. CQC took swift action following our inspection to ensure the safety and wellbeing of patients. The decision to place an urgent condition on a provider’s registration is not one we take lightly. However, when we find poor practice, as we did in this case, we will take immediate action to ensure patients are not at risk.”
