Royal Preston & Chorley hospitals told they require improvement

The trust that operates hospitals in Preston and Chorley has been told that it requires improvement.

It's after unannounced inspections by the regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), over the summer.

Following the inspection, the overall rating remained the same, with inspectors noting issues surrounding staff carrying out mandatory training, and not enough staff being in place at an area of the Royal Preston.

The report highlights that, within Urgent and Emergency Care at Preston:

• Compliance for some areas of mandatory training was low for medical staff

• Staff did not always know how to support patients

• People could not always access the service when they needed it and patients often had long waiting times for treatment.

Within the medical division of the Royal Preston, inspectors showed concern that the environment "did not always keep people safe".

It said: "The service did not always control infection risk well. The environment did not always keep people safe. Staff did not always identify and quickly act upon patients at risk of deterioration and did not always have the resources available to them to support patient’s needs. The service did not have enough established medical staff to keep patients safe from avoidable harm."

However, inspectors did acknowledge that other areas of the trust was doing well. It said there was some "outstanding practice" in maternity services and the emergency department at the Royal Preston Hospital.

Inspectors always praised staff for their dedication, noting "Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions."

The report, spanning 194 pages, has highlighted 54 areas for improvement in total.