A Nottinghamshire mental health hospital has remained in special measures after inspectors raised concerns with medication errors and restraint methods. Priory Hospital East Midlands retained its rating of inadequate rating after the Care Quality Commission (CQC) visited its premises off Mansfield Road in Annesley on August 30.
The health watchdog found 11 medication errors in a review of the hospital's incident forms, and found the use of a "five man lift" in a patient's care record. A spokesman for Priory Hospital said a new manager and action plan had been put in place.
The hospital, run by Priory Healthcare Ltd, provides care and treatment on wards for adults of working age, as well as psychiatric intensive care units and secure wards for females. The CQC carried out the latest unannounced inspection after "receiving concerning information about the safety and quality of the service".
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"This included nurses administering medication to a patient by injection, when the medication was intended to be administered orally," it said. Concerns were also received regarding the restraint of people using the service.
The inspection report, published on Friday (October 28), said a review of the hospital's electronic incident forms from February 24 2022 to August 21 2022 found there had been 11 errors. Three involved incorrect dispensing or administration of medicines.
"On one occasion a staff member dispensed 300mg Quetiapine for a patient who was prescribed 125mg and on another occasion staff had administered Zopiclone to a pregnant patient," the report reads. Inspectors also found entries within a patient's care record that were "cause for concern".
It says: "Firstly, staff had recorded within the notes they had used a 'five man lift' to pick a patient up from the floor and relocated them to the calming suite. We discussed this with a manager who reported this was not a known restraint technique. Some staff inaccurately recorded methods of physical interventions in patient records, which could lead to ambiguity around unapproved restraint methods being used."
The report later adds: "We were concerned that staff may have been restraining in a way which would pose a risk to the patients’ physical health."
A Priory Hospital spokesman said: “A detailed action plan is in place, implemented by a new hospital manager working with a multi-disciplinary team, who are ensuring all necessary improvements are made. Care plans are audited regularly and we have made robust improvements to our medicines management processes, including around the planned introduction of electronic prescribing, and ensuring that all lessons are learned across the hospital.
"Verbal discussions with the CQC confirm that positive change has already taken place. Our governance systems have been reviewed and we are working closely with external agencies to ensure improvements are demonstrable and sustained.”
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