Inspectors find contaminated equipment at Scottish hospital in follow-up after raising ‘serious concerns’

The follow-up at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife, came after Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s first inspection in July-August 2023 raised concerns about the condition of the facility’s phase one building, and resulted in a string of requirements the watchdog wanted to see addressed.

Inspectors returned in December and left much happier at what they saw - but flagged some areas for further attention.

They found NHS Fife was undertaking ongoing improvement work, and said dust and mould was found in some areas.

Inspectors highlighted nine areas of good practice, and issued one recommendation and 13 requirements.

The inspection report states that in several areas, inspectors found equipment, including a commode, contaminated with bodily fluids.

They spoke with staff and patients, inspected wards, watched medical teams interacting with patients - such as at meal times - and accessed health records and reports.

Chief inspector Donna Maclean said: “Patients and relatives were complimentary about their care and the staff providing it. The areas inspected were calm and well-led with hospital teams working together to provide compassionate care.

“The majority of staff we spoke with described Victoria Hospital as a good place to work, with a supportive and visible senior management team.”

A requirement means the hospital has not met the required standards and the inspection team is concerned about the impact this has on patients using the hospital or service. It expects all requirements to be addressed, and NHS Fife has an improvement action plan in response.

Inspectors want to see further improvement in relation to maintaining patient dignity, hand hygiene, patient documentation, fire training compliance, the safe storage of cleaning products, and the safe management of waste.

They also acknowledged the improvement work ongoing at the hospital and noted: “At the time of this follow-up inspection, Victoria Hospital was experiencing a range of pressures, including increased patient numbers, reduced staff availability and high acuity of patients.”

Despite the pressures, inspectors found “an open and supportive culture with senior hospital managers displaying a good oversight of both clinical and wider system pressures” and patients and relatives were complimentary about their care.

“Despite increased hospital capacity, the areas inspected were calm and well led with hospital teams working together to provide compassionate care,” the inspectors said. “The majority of staff we spoke with described Victoria Hospital as a good place to work with a supportive and visible senior management team.”

Inspectors also visited the accident-and-emergency (A&E) department, which was described as “calm and well led, with hospital teams working together to provide responsive, compassionate care”.

“Patients and families spoke highly of the care received and staff stated they would recommend Victoria Hospital as a good place to work,” they said.

While waiting times were longer than the national target sets out, staff were calm and the department was well organised with care being co-ordinated safely, the report stated.