In North Tees and Hartlepool patients are having to stay in hospital beds as local care homes have been told not to admit new residents by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
This has meant that in the last four weeks patients have spent an additional 101, 109, 139 and 145 days a week in hospital beds while awaiting places, hospital leaders heard during a Hartlepool Hospital meeting, according to the Hartlepool Mail.
In North Tees and Hartlepool patients are having to stay in hospital beds as local care homes have been told not to admit new residents by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
This has meant that in the last four weeks patients have spent an additional 101, 109, 139 and 145 days a week in hospital beds while awaiting places, hospital leaders heard during a Hartlepool Hospital meeting, according to the Hartlepool Mail.
The NHS Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is now working with North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust and representatives from Hartlepool Borough Council in order to improve the situation, and a spokesperson for the CCG has said they “do have concerns”.
They said: “Work is being undertaken to improve the quality within nursing residential homes to reduce the potential of Care Quality Commission enforcement action in the future.
“The CCG is working with partners to ensure people can be cared for outside of the hospital setting to reduce the numbers of patients needing nursing or residential care. This is being addressed through admission avoidance schemes, Better Care Fund plans and enhancement of North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust’s community services.”
This comes after, last week, Manor Park Care Home was fined £4,000 for failing to comply with the national standard of having a registered manager in post for seven months this year.
Similarly, in mid-November Highnam Hall in Hartlepool was put into special measures from the CQC as inspectors found some staff treated residents in an “undignified, disrespectful and an infantilised manner when they were distressed and disoriented,” and there were fire safety risk concerns.
Improvements to local care homes are “being addressed through admission avoidance schemes, Better Care Fund plans and enhancement of North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust’s community services,” the CCG said.
