Wiltshire NHS-funded specialist hospital rated ‘inadequate’

A specialist NHS-funded hospital in Wiltshire, which cares for patients with neurological conditions, has been rated ‘inadequate’ by the Care Quality Commission.

South Newton Hospital in Salisbury, is run by private firm Renovo Care and provides NHS-funded services for up to 17 patients.

Following an announced inspection which took place in January, the CQC report said the hospital “did not meet legal requirements relating to safe care”.  The inspection took place following “concerns about ongoing risks” and because it had not had a “comprehensive inspection” since being registered in 2020.

The overall rating for the hospital was “inadequate” as well as being “inadequate for being safe and well-led”.  Caring was rated as “good” while responding to patients’ needs “required improvement”.

The CQC’s head of hospital inspection, Cath Campbell, said that while staff were “focussed on the needs of patients”, they had “concerns about how the service was being run”, adding that “leaders didn’t effectively investigate or share learning from incidents that occurred and make recommendations to reduce the risk of similar incidents happening again.

“In addition, the service didn’t always recognise safeguarding concerns and report them appropriately.  For example, one person complained that a member of staff had removed a whistle so it was out of reach from someone who used this as their primary mode of calling for help.”

Responding to the report, a spokesperson for Renovo Care said “We are disappointed with the overall rating and are committed to making swift and sustainable improvements, led by the senior team and an experienced manager who is currently undergoing CQC registration.”

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Posted by Karen Motley, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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