Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) published a report today (Tuesday 27 October 2015) about its unannounced inspection visit at Hairmyres Hospital on Tuesday 28 July to Thursday 30 July 2015.

NHS Lanarkshire welcomed HIS’s recognition of the improvements that have been made and confirmed its plans for continuing improvement.
Director of nursing, midwifery and allied health professions, Irene Barkby said: “We are firmly committed to working towards the very highest standards of care for older people at Hairmyres Hospital.

“It is important to continually improve the level of care we provide to older people and the report includes valuable feedback to help us achieve this.

“We welcome the recognition given to the areas of strength at the hospital, such as the good work being undertaken by the Hospital at Home Scheme and the improvements in patient flow and capacity resulting from the introduction of the ‘Onion’ huddle where hospital staff meet daily to discuss issues. The work of the Acute Care of the Elderly (ACE) nurses in screening older people for frailty in the accident and emergency department and ensuring access to specialty beds was also highlighted.

“However, we know that we must continue to work hard to ensure all older people receive the best care in hospital. The inspectors highlighted areas for improvement, which we were already in the process of addressing, particularly in terms of improving completion of documentation and record-keeping to reconcile this with the high standard and care and treatment that is being provided. We have revisited the co-ordination and nursing staff involvement in mealtimes since the inspection was undertaken in July 2015.”