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Friday 6 November 10am-4pm
Follow-up inspection finds there’s still room for improvement at Western General
The Healthcare Environment Inspectorate (HEI) has published its report following an unannounced follow-up inspection visit to the Western General Hospital on Tuesday 26 and Wednesday 27 May – and further improvement is required before the local hospital can be given a clean bill of health.
HEI, part of Healthcare Improvement Scotland, was set up to help reduce healthcare associated infection risk to patients through a rigorous inspection framework.
The HEI inspection team examined NHS Lothian’s self-assessment information and then inspected the hospital to validate this information, meet patients and staff, and visit wards and departments to assess how clean the hospital was and if it was meeting national standards.
This follow-up report should be read along with the previous report produced last November, as May’s inspection follows up on the requirements made at that inspection. (See NEN blog post 26 January ‘Simply Unacceptable’).
Inspectors found that the NHS board has met six of the requirements made at the previous inspection in November last year, and partially met two other requirements.
This latest inspection resulted in no new requirements or recommendations.
Jacqui Macrae, HEI’s Head of Quality of Care, said: “Our inspectors found that NHS Lothian has met six of the eight requirements we made in our previous inspection. Progress has been made in addressing the remaining two requirements but these have only been partially met.
“As a result, NHS Lothian must take further action to maintain a clean environment in the acute receiving admissions unit. It must also ensure that a consistent system is in place to check all mattresses across all wards and departments.
These requirements will be carried forward to the next inspection and we expect NHS Lothian to address these areas as a matter of priority.”
The full HEI inspection report can be found at: http://www.
Police are appealing for information to help trace a man reported missing since Monday (9 March).
Ian Nelson, also known as Ian Copeland, who is 38-year-old, was last seen around 1.30pm in the Western General Hospital where he was receiving treatment. Staff are concerned that he has missed the dose of the medicine he needs and his health could be affected.
Ian is described as a white male, 5 ft 10, slim build with short ginger hair and a fair complexion. He is believed to be wearing a grey top and dark trousers.
Officers are now urging anyone who can assist with their enquiries to come forward. Inspector Allan Symington said: “We are concerned for Ian’s health and welfare and are keen to speak to anyone who can help us trace him. Those with information can contact Police Scotland on 101.”
A patient is being tested for Ebola at the Western General Hospital after feeling unwell on returning from West Africa. The patient, who has not been named, was admitted to the specialist unit at the Western earlier today.
The test results are likely to be known later tonight or early tomorrow morning.
NHS Lothian Nurse Director Melanie Johnson said: “A patient who recently returned to Scotland from West Africa has been admitted to our Regional Infectious Diseases Unit (RIDU) at the Western General Hospital after reporting a raised temperature.
“The patient will be screened for possible infections and as a precaution will be kept in isolation. We have robust systems in place to manage patients with suspected infectious diseases and follow agreed and tested national guidelines.”
Pauline Cafferkey went out to Africa to assist in the Ebola aid effort and became the first Scot to be diagnosed with the disease when she returned to Glasgow in December. Transferred from the Western to London’s Royal Free Hospital after tests proved positive, the nurse was in a critical condition at one point but has since made a strong recovery.
Standards of cleanliness at The Western General Hospital have been severely criticized in a report (see below) by official watchdog The Healthcare Environment Inspectorate (HEI). NHS Lothian chiefs have said they have already acted to respond to concerns.
Chief Inspector Susan Brimelow said: “We carried out an unannounced inspection to the Western General Hospital on Tuesday 18 and Wednesday 19 November 2014. Due to significant concerns about the cleanliness of patient equipment and the environment, we escalated our findings to senior management in the hospital.
“We requested that NHS Lothian take immediate action to address these issues and produce an improvement action plan. We returned unannounced on Thursday 27 November 2014 to assess progress against the improvement action plan and found that significant improvements had been made. NHS Lothian must address the requirements and make the necessary improvements as a matter of priority.”
In a full statement issued earlier today the HEI said:
We previously inspected the Western General Hospital in February 2013. That inspection resulted in four requirements and five recommendations. The inspection report is available on the Healthcare Improvement Scotland website.
We carried out an unannounced inspection to the Western General Hospital on Tuesday 18 and Wednesday 19 November 2014. Due to significant concerns about the cleanliness of patient equipment and environmental cleanliness within the Western General Hospital, we escalated our concerns to senior management in NHS Lothian on 18 November and then again on 19 November 2014. On ward 52/53, we also raised concerns about the lack of working macerators and the procedures in place to reduce the risk of cross-infection to patients, staff and visitors. Macerators break human waste down into slurry so it can be sluiced effectively. We requested that immediate action be taken on these issues and an improvement action plan produced to show how these issues would be rectified.
We returned unannounced on Thursday 27 November 2014 to assess progress against the improvement action plan at ward and departmental level. Significant improvements had been made although we still noted some issues with the cleanliness of patient equipment and the environment.
We assessed the hospital against the NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) healthcare associated infection (HAI) standards and inspected the following areas:
Overall, we found evidence that NHS Lothian is not complying with the NHS QIS HAI standards to protect patients, staff and visitors from the risk of acquiring and infection.
In particular we found:
The report highlights areas of strength and weakness as well as areas for further improvement, including requirements and recommendations.
This inspection resulted in eight requirements and one recommendation.
NHS Lothian must address the requirements and make the necessary improvements within the stated timescales.
Responding to the report, Melanie Johnson, executive nurse director at NHS Lothian, said staff had acted on the inspectors’ findings as ‘a matter of urgency’.
Ms Johnson said: “We recognise that some standards were below those we would expect and I apologise to any patients who may have been affected. I would also like to reassure them that those areas have been rectified – since the first of the visits in November, immediate changes were put in place to address all areas that were singled out for improvement.
“A detailed action plan was drawn up and all points have been completed. Many of these significant improvements were proven during the subsequent unannounced visit by inspectors as is detailed in the report.”
Commenting on the ‘extremely disappointing’ findings, Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “The report shows that standards have fallen well short of what the public and patients expect. The inspectors have uncovered simply unacceptable levels of cleanliness and infection control in certain wards, and I will be meeting the chair of NHS Lothian to reiterate my desire to see standards immediately improve. The improvement plan in place must be delivered urgently.”
Tests for Ebola on a Fife woman who recently returned from west Africa have proved NEGATIVE.
The woman was admitted to the Western General Hospital yesterday after developing a fever and she is now being treated in an isolation unit at the hospital’s Regional Infectious Diseases Unit (RIDU).
Melanie Johnson, Director of Unscheduled Care at NHS Lothian, said last night: “A patient who recently returned to Scotland from west Africa has been admitted to our at the Western General Hospital after they reported a raised temperature.
“As a precautionary measure, and in line with agreed procedures, the patient will be screened for possible infections and will be kept in isolation. We have robust systems in place to manage patients with suspected infectious diseases and follow agreed and tested national guidelines.”
It has since been confirmed that the patient, who lives in Fife, does NOT have the Ebola virus.
Red Dot radio, the ‘on-air’ name of the Edinburgh Hospital Broadcasting Service, was founded as Forth Radio Network in 1962 and it’s been entertaining patients in Edinburgh hospitals ever since!
Originally serving over 16 hospitals in the early days, the main audience is now in the Western General Hospital and Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.
On the air 365 days of the year, they provide programmes from 7pm until 10pm every evening except for Christmas Day when they broadcast from 10am until midday.
The mainstay of their programmes is ‘Request Time’ – the patients’ own choice of music. The volunteers visit the wards each evening to speak to the patients, check that the bedside radio is working and then find out what they would like to hear, before returning to the studio to prepare and present the show.
On Wednesday 12 November, Red Dot Radio are throwing open their doors to let staff and patients, their relatives and friends see how the service operates, and visit the studio ‘live’ on air.
The organisation’s chairman, Malcolm Kirby, says: “it’s very rewarding work and we look forward to meeting as many people as possible and showing them our studios.”
If you are interested in seeing this fascinating organisation at work, go along to the Western General Hospital between 5.30 and 9 pm on Wednesday (12 November). Visitors will be met at the entrance to the Anne Ferguson Building.
Support your local hospital broadcasting service!
