Highbury Hospital in Nottingham cannot admit new patients to one of its wards without prior approval from the Care Quality Commission following an inspection earlier this year.
The hospital, run by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, has faced scrutiny in recent years over a number of incidents and concerns relating to patient care.
In early 2024, 30 members of staff were suspended during an investigation into alleged misconduct, with some later dismissed.
Earlier this year, an inquest jury found that neglect by a healthcare worker contributed to the death of patient Louise Furlong, who died at the hospital in 2022. The inquest heard that the staff member had falsified records relating to patient observations.
The latest regulatory action followed an unannounced monitoring visit by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to Rowan 2 ward on 2 July.
Inspectors returned on 6 July for a further unannounced, risk-based inspection.
On 9 July, the CQC imposed nine conditions on the operation of Rowan 2.
The full inspection report has not yet been published, so the CQC has not publicly set out all of the findings that led to the restrictions.
One of the conditions prevents the trust from admitting any new patients, including readmissions, to Rowan 2 without prior written agreement from the CQC.
The condition states: “The Trust must not admit any new patients onto Rowan 2 ward at Highbury Hospital, this includes any readmissions, without the prior written agreement of the Care Quality Commission.
“Any proposed admission must be submitted to the Care Quality Commission for consideration and approval before the patient is admitted.
“The Trust must provide evidence that such decisions have considered patients’ individual risks, continuity of care needs and the impact on patient safety.”
The trust must also submit a weekly report to the CQC setting out the action it has taken and progress made in addressing risks identified on the ward.
The reports must cover areas including the management of risks and prohibited items, patient risk assessments and care plans, required medical reviews, shift leadership, staffing capacity to respond to incidents and oversight of patients’ whereabouts.
Each report must include evidence of completed actions, outstanding risks, responsible leads, timescales and details of how the trust is assessing whether improvements are working in practice.
The remaining conditions require the trust to ensure Rowan 2 has a designated person responsible for coordinating and overseeing each shift; that risks and prohibited items are safely managed; and that risks to individual patients are recorded with appropriate care plans in place.
Patients must also receive any required medical reviews, while staff must maintain accurate and up-to-date care records, including care plans, risk assessments and handover documents.
The trust must also ensure records relating to patients’ nutrition and hydration needs are maintained, that systems are in place so staff know patients’ whereabouts, and that staff are appropriately trained and coordinated to respond to incidents.
The CQC can carry out further inspections after imposing conditions to assess whether the required improvements have been made.
A spokesperson for Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said: “Earlier this year the Care Quality Commission (CQC) placed conditions of operation on one of our wards at Highbury Hospital. We accepted this decision and their findings in full and apologise to any patient who did not receive the standard of care they deserve.
“We acted straight away, strengthening leadership and staffing on the ward and improving the processes that keep patients safe. Senior leaders are on the ward every day, and we are hearing directly from patients about their experience of care.
“We have made good progress against every condition and our focus now is making sure these improvements are sustained for the future. We continue to update the CQC regularly and welcome their return to review our progress. We would like to reassure our communities of the improvements being made and of our continued commitment to ensuring every patient receives safe, high quality, compassionate care.”
By Joseph Connolly, Local Democracy Reporter
