Trust Chief Executive Nick Wood had written to the CQC before their visit to advise them of his own concerns regarding the pressure staff were under due to the prolonged winter and the increased number of emergency admissions.
The Trust has now received two formal warnings regarding aspects of its privacy and dignity standards for patients and some of its record-keeping.
The inspectors said they found isolated incidents of poor quality of care when they visited some of the hospital's wards, with some staff appearing to give insufficient consideration to the privacy and dignity of some patients. They also found some examples of very good clinical and nursing practice on the wards and in the Emergency Department.
Chief Executive Nick Wood said: "Staff here were shocked by some of the findings of the CQC inspectors and we have taken immediate action to improve care. While the hospital has been under intense pressure over the winter this is not an excuse for poor standards. We have taken decisive action to rectify the situation.
• We are recruiting more permanent staff: 36.5 whole time equivalent registered nurses, more nursing assistants, an out-of-hours nursing sister and registered mental health nurses.
• Every ward now has an executive lead, with my top team spending significant time on the wards to support staff and monitor standards.
• We have reinvigorated our patient focus by introducing a simple process that allows all staff to see the ward environment from the patient's point of view.
• I have also written to all staff this morning, reminding them of the standards we expect and asking them to report directly to me if they see anything that they think is of concern.
Weston is a safe hospital. The CQC found no evidence of care that put patient safety at risk and we have one of the best records on patient mortality in the country. Although disappointing, we are grateful to the CQC for highlighting areas where we need to concentrate efforts. We are all determined to raise standards."
For further information, please contact Mark Wall, Interim Head of Communications, on 07909 993278 or Christopher Willan, on 01934 647182 or by email christopher.willan@nhs.net.