Staffing shortfalls at University Hospital Kerry are “significantly impacting” its ability to provide patients with safe and effective healthcare, according to a report by the State’s health watchdog.
An unannounced inspection of the hospital in Tralee was carried by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) in January to assess compliance with 11 national standards from the National Standards for Safer Better Health.
Overall, the inspectors found evidence of a “slight improvement” in compliance with some of the national standards assessed.
However, “significant noncompliance” remained with some national standards, specifically those relating to arrangements to support good governance, workforce and risk management.
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Inspectors found the hospital compliant or substantially compliant with four national standards, partially compliant with five national standards and non-compliant with two national standards.
“While medical, nursing and midwifery staff resourcing had improved the hospital, hospital management continued to experience challenges in addressing resourcing deficits in quality and patient safety management and health and social care professionals,” the report said.
“Staffing shortfalls in the quality and patient safety department significantly impacted on the ability to proactively monitor, improve and act on opportunities to continually improve healthcare services at the hospital.
“In addition, improvements in clinical governance and oversight in the emergency department outside core working hours had not progressed since the previous inspection which was of concern to Hiqa.”
The inspectors found the workforce arrangements in place in University Hospital Kerry were “not fully effective” in supporting and promoting the delivery of high-quality, safe and reliable healthcare in the emergency department and the wider hospital.
Five “high-rated risks” related to staffing were recorded on the hospital’s corporate risk register.
Similar to a previous inspection findings, medical staffing levels in the emergency department were not maintained at levels to support the provision of 24/7 emergency care.
The inspectors found “significant deficits” in relation to the clinical governance of the emergency department and supervision of non-consultant hospital doctors working in the department outside core working hours.
Staffing shortfalls in the quality and patient safety department also impacted on the operational ability to proactively monitor, improve and act on opportunities to improve the healthcare services at the hospital.
Medical, nursing and midwifery staff uptake of mandatory and essential training is an area that requires “substantial improvement”, the report said.
Meanwhile, inspectors also found that systems in place to identify and manage potential and actual risks associated with the four areas of known harm “were not as robust, proactive and effective as they should be”.
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