Room for improvement at community hospital in Peebles

Healthcare Improvement Scotland made an unannounced inspection of Hay Lodge Community Hospital in Peebles in December

With older people particularly vulnerable to Covid-19, the inspection had a combined focus on safety and cleanliness and the care of older people.

The report, published last week, said that equipment and environmental cleanliness at the hospital was good,

It also found that work to reduce the number of falls had taken place, and nursing staff felt well supported and kept up to date during the pandemic.

However, inspectors said that some PPE was worn inappropriately during their visit, with staff seen going between patients wearing the same gloves, beds were too close together and social-distancing wasn't always maintained.

They also found that person centred care plans were not in place for all care needs, and said that mealtime management must be improved.

Ian Smith, head of quality of care at Healthcare Improvement Scotland, said: “During our inspection we saw that the standard of both environmental and equipment cleanliness were good. There was also evidence of learning from incident reports which have driven a reduction in the number of falls.

“However, person-centred care plans and assessments for food, fluid and nutrition must be improved, as well as ensuring a consistent approach to mealtimes.”

NHS Borders, which has been ordered to make a number of improvements, said it welcomed the opportunity to review its performance in order to deliver the “highest standards of care” to patients.

The health board said it had agreed an action plan with Health Improvement Scotland which it has begun to implement , including re-establishing a mealtime coordinator role and developing an education template for person- centred care planning at Hay Lodge.

Suzie Flower, associate director of nursing and chief nurse for primary and community at NHS Borders, said: “We are committed to learning from this inspection and ensuring the care we deliver to our patients in Hay Lodge is of the highest quality.”