Nurses ignored elderly patients as they asked for help on Leeds ward

Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) have revealed they were forced to repeatedly intervene to help patients on a ward at Leeds General Infirmary where the majority said they were “dissatisfied” with their care due to staff shortages.

New checks were yesterday being carried out by inspectors at the hospital in the wake of formal warnings issued last month over a series of failings.

Among the incidents uncovered on ward 53 for orthopaedic patients in March were:

One patient being forced to bang on a table to get attention from staff;

Another in distress as they were helped into bed, pleading with staff: “Don’t be rough with me”;

Nurses being rude to patients and ignoring requests for help or reassurance;

Patients facing waits of more than 30 minutes to go to the toilet, leading to frequent bed soiling.

Inspectors found a single qualified nurse had been left on duty on one night to deal with a 30-bed ward, while they branded nursing notes “chaotic”.

Hospital bosses were yesterday forced to defend standards before councillors in Leeds.

Chief executive Maggie Boyle told them urgent action to address shortfalls had been taken.

“I have spent my NHS career trying to improve the safety and effectiveness of care for patients so I was shocked and dismayed by the findings of the CQC inspectors and want to make it clear that the failings highlighted in the report were completely unacceptable,” she said.

Peta Clark, of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in Yorkshire, said: “For some time the RCN has warned of the risks of reducing staffing levels in the NHS.

“Staff at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust feel hard pressed and haven’t been able to deliver the standard of care they would want.

“Staffing levels must be addressed across the trust to ensure that it operates within its own planned staffing levels.”

Simon Bottery, of the charity Independent Age, said evidence showed older people’s wards were typically let down by low staffing.

He added that all people had a right to expect dignity and a proper level of care in hospital and should not have to worry about whether basic needs would be met – such as help getting to the toilet. “It’s time we put the ‘care’ back into healthcare.”