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A shocking new report into the scandal-hit psychiatric hospital where Nottingham murderer Valdo Calocane was a patient reveals that staff assaulted patients and falsified medical records after his death. Became.
Incidents of staff physically assaulting patients and staff being too scared to report problems at Highbury Hospital have been revealed by the Care Quality Commission.
The watchdog said in a new report released Friday that police were investigating the deaths of two patients and the hospital found that staff involved in the incident had later falsified medical records. It revealed that.
the news will come later independent person Nottinghamshire Healthcare Foundation Trust, which runs Highbury Hospital, has revealed that more than 30 staff have been suspended following allegations of patient abuse and falsification of medical observation records.
The trust is also facing a further CQC review commissioned by Health Secretary Victoria Atkins following the conviction of murderer Valdo Cullocane, who was a patient in Highbury Hospital’s social services team. This review will be published later this year.
A CQC report that rated services in Highbury as ‘inadequate’ revealed that staff at Highbury Hospital’s Cherry Ward, which accommodates elderly patients, were suspended on November 5 following a serious incident. did.
The report said incidents involving falsification of observations where monitoring was required to ensure patient safety resulted in “serious harm.”
Separately, the watchdog revealed two patient deaths at Highbury Hospital in March 2022 and September 2022. Following police involvement following the death, the trust found evidence that staff had falsified medical records.
The trust, Nottinghamshire Police and the CQC declined to comment when asked about the police investigation into hospital staff.
A CQC report said Highbury Hospital had a history of falsifying observation records and was warned that patient safety was at a “high risk” at the hospital.
Staff at Highbury Hospital were not managing patients properly. In one incident cited by inspectors, a patient was able to bring cocaine onto a ward despite staff knowing the area was a “known risk” to illicit drug users.
this month independent person It also revealed the case of Daniel Tucker, a young man who took his own life just hours after being discharged from Highbury Hospital. Evidence at the inquest into his death showed that the doctors who treated him filled out forms that were supposed to be filled out when he was discharged from hospital, and then retroactively filled out those forms after his death. It was revealed.
Staff at a geriatric ward were found to be using “excessive and inappropriate” medication to control patients’ behavior. One staff member said that when a patient is having difficulties, “we refill them with lorazepam, a sleeping pill.”
Greg Reilly, CQC’s deputy operations manager for the Midlands region, said it had been found that staff on adult wards were “not always kind and respectful to the people in their care”.
“When we visited Cherry Ward for the Elderly, there had been a significant impact on staffing levels due to a serious incident that took place in November last year. A number of staff had been suspended as a result of this incident and staff The level of staffing has had a huge impact on the level of care people are receiving.”
“A closed-circuit television (CCTV) trust investigation found that these staff were falsifying care records to make it appear as though no observations had taken place. Inspectors also found that working-age adults A review of CCTV footage from the acute ward and psychiatric intensive care unit where Elm was hospitalized found that staff members had assaulted people and caused physical harm. There have been four incidents of assault. The staff involved have been suspended and the trust is investigating the incidents.”
Mr Rielly said this was “totally unacceptable behavior” and the trust needed to address it.
Ifti Majid, CEO of Nottinghamshire Healthcare, said: “Patient safety and health are always our top priority. We welcome testing as it is an important way to understand where we are and identify areas for improvement and opportunities to improve the situation. To do.
“We fully accept that this inspection found care that fell short of the standard and quality of care that it should have, and that we have let down our patients who did not receive the level of care that they deserved.” We are committed to doing more to help those who need us and to reassure the people of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire that it is ok to turn to us for care and support. We recognize that we must do good work and change the way care is delivered.
“We reacted quickly to begin our improvement efforts. Examples of changes we have made to date include: , increased staff oversight, the addition of a senior nurse on the ward, a new patient safety team and a review of all observations.”
A CQC spokesperson said the CQC itself does not carry out criminal investigations and was aware that police were routinely informed of patient deaths.
Nottinghamshire Police said they are actively investigating a fatal incident at Highbury Hospital in September 2022.
It also previously investigated a death at the same hospital in March 2022 and shared its findings with the coroner.
This article has been updated to add comments from the trust, CQC and police and to correct reference to the inquest findings.
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