Watchdog places dialysis unit in special measures

A dialysis unit in North Yorkshire has been rated inadequate by the health watchdog and placed into special measures following an inspection.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected Scarborough NHS Dialysis Unit, based in the grounds of Scarborough Hospital, in April.

The service, which is run by Fresenius Medical Care Renal Services Limited, provides haemodialysis treatment for people with end-stage renal disease.

It was rated inadequate in the safe, effective and well-led categories, and required improvement for its responsiveness and care. The operator said it did not believe the report was "a fair reflection of the care our team provides to our patients".

The regulator said the unit would remain under "close review" and be monitored to ensure "sufficient improvements" were made.

In a report due to be published in the next few days, CQC deputy director of operations Charlotte Rudge said inspectors found a service that "wasn't providing safe or appropriate care to people needing life-saving dialysis treatment".

Rudge added: "We saw people experiencing delays getting their treatment, and others sometimes experienced delays being disconnected from dialysis machines.

"People said this was a regular occurrence which they'd escalated to managers several times, but no action had been taken to prevent this from happening again."

The CQC said it had raised the concerns with leaders immediately and taken enforcement action to secure urgent improvements.

Inspectors also found the unit was not always clean, with examples including broken flooring in a toilet and contamination in some areas which increased the risk of infection.

Among other concerns identified in the report were shortages of suitably qualified staff, a lack of assurance over staff training and competency records, and findings that people did not always receive their medications safely.

The CQC said clinical areas were sometimes "cluttered, restricting movement around the unit and making it harder for staff to supervise patients".

Inspectors also found leaders had not ensured lessons were learned from incidents, to improve care and safety.

Rudge said: "We have told leaders where we expect to see rapid improvements and will continue to monitor the service closely to keep people safe during this time."

In a statement, Fresenius Medical Care said it was "committed to excellent clinical care and the safety and wellbeing of all our patients".

A company spokesperson, said: "We have carefully reviewed the report and are taking the necessary actions to reassure the CQC and our patients that our care standards are high and will remain so.

"We look forward to a repeat inspection and an updated assessment in due course."

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