St George's Hospital must urgently improve, warn Tooting MP Sadiq Khan and Care Quality Commission

The warning from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) comes after St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs the hospital in Blackshaw Road, failed to meet six of eight national standards measured during the inspection.

In January, the inspection team, comprised of six CQC inspectors, a head of nursing from another trust, and a midwifery expert, visited the Accident and Emergency (A&E) department, paediatrics, maternity, stroke and rehabilitation, care of the elderly and renal units.

The report found a mix of patients' reports ranging from "happy" to "less satisfied" and saw instances of "good care" and "poor care".

Among the findings where action is required by the Trust:

• Some clinical areas were dirty and did not appear to have been properly cleaned between patients. In one ward, the doors to isolation rooms used by patients with infectious diseases were left open.

• In A&E, private conversations about people’s medical conditions could sometimes be heard by others and inspectors saw a person using a commode in view of other patients.

• In A&E, staff spoken with were not aware of the need to offer equipment designed to reduce the risk of pressure sores to some patients who had been waiting a long time.

• A number of women on the maternity unit complained about the way their male partners had been treated during their time there and about a lack of facilities for men, saying this had affected their care.

CQC found three standards, patients respect, patients welfare and infection control, were not being met with moderate impact, and three with minor impact.

The Trust met two other standards checked at this inspection.

The regulator defines "minor impact" as patients experiencing poor care that had an impact on their health, safety or welfare or there was a risk of this happening.

"Moderate impact" described patients experiencing poor care that had a significant effect on their health, safety or welfare or there was a risk of this happening.

Matthew Trainer, deputy director of CQC in London, said: "We found that people being treated at the hospital were not always experiencing care to the standard they had a right to expect.

"The challenge for St George’s is to ensure that the good care our inspectors saw is delivered across the board."

Tooting MP Sadiq Khan said he had "serious concerns" about the hospital, which is based in his constituency.

He said: "The lack of cleanliness identified in parts of the hospital, issues regarding patient confidentiality and reports of elderly people not being able to reach their drinks are all very worrying.

"I will closely monitor their ongoing efforts to improve patient care and to ensure patients continue to receive the care they deserve.

"It is important to acknowledge that there is also much to celebrate in this report; many patients said they were extremely happy with the treatment and care and support provided by hospital staff. St George’s is a fantastic hospital and all the staff work incredibly hard to give excellent patient care."

A spokesman for St George's said the Trust "welcomes this level of scrutiny" from the regulator.

He said: "Since the visit staff at St George’s have been working hard to address these issues as part of our commitment to improving quality throughout our hospitals and community clinics.

"A comprehensive action plan has been submitted to the CQC which outlines the steps we have already taken and those currently underway to achieve full compliance."

To read the full report visit www.cqc.org.uk.