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Trust response to CQC inspection report on medical care services at Weston General Hospital

Last updated: 12/05/2021

Deirdre Fowler, Chief Nurse at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We welcome this CQC report and fully accept that there are areas in medical care services at Weston General Hospital which we need to improve. Issues highlighted in the report reflect challenges, particularly around nurse and medical staffing, that the hospital has faced for many years. We were actively seeking to address these issues in planning for our merger just over 12 months ago, which happened at the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

“Nevertheless, we have already made significant progress with work to address these challenges either completed or underway. For example, a new cohort of registered nurses has been recruited and is due to join Weston over the next six months, and we are actively working to recruit more doctors. While we expect to reduce our vacancies from current levels, we are block booking temporary staff in the meantime so that the same professionals provide continuity of care.

“It’s important we recognise and thank our hard-working staff at Weston General Hospital for their dedication and commitment over the past year of the pandemic, and we were pleased the CQC found that staff were caring and focused on the needs of our patients.

“Inspectors highlighted how staff responded compassionately when people needed help and support, anticipating patient’s needs, and recognised the importance of privacy and dignity. Inspectors also found that records of patients’ care and treatment were clear and up-to-date and available to all staff providing care, that ward areas were visibly clean, and that staff on the wards understood how to manage infection prevention and control and wore appropriate PPE to keep themselves and others safe.

“We are committed to making the necessary improvements and our focus will remain on providing safe and high quality care to our patients.”