A report by the CQC has raised concerns over discharging patients at Lincoln County Hospital, despite improving other elements of its care.
The Care Quality Commission revisited the hospital this month after a previous report indicated care for patients and staff needed immediate improvements.
ULHT, the body which manages care within the hospitals, vowed to improve conditions.
This month inspectors from the CQC found the main issue facing patients was lack of coordination around discharging.
Inspectors were informed of one patient being discharged to a care home with no medication, or information about the medication they had prior to the discharge.
The family of another elderly patient felt discharge in the hospital was “unsafe” because they had not been involved in decisions and had been “poorly planned”.
Overall, a number of patients were at risk from delays and uncoordinated care and support when they are discharged.
However, the CQC also found examples of improvements throughout the hospital.
Staffing levels have improved, patient records were more organised and patients were protected from most risks.
New and refurbished wards are also bright, well decorated and spacious, the report found.
Inspectors did not find that areas in the maternity ward posed potential risks to patients due to undergoing refurbishment, but patients noted that it was not having an impact on the levels of their care.
ULHT now has 14 days to respond to the report and set out how they will act to improve areas of concern.
In a statement, ULHT said: “We are pleased that the latest report for Lincoln County Hospital reflects progress made, particularly around assessing and monitoring the quality of services.
“The report highlights the success of the Trust’s ‘Safety and Quality Dashboard’ which was launched across the Trust in December and provides information about standards of care for ward staff every month.
“We recognise there is still more to be done, particularly around cooperating with other providers and we are working continuously to address issues raised.”
Lincoln MP Karl McCartney commented: “I welcome this report and I, along with the CQC, recognise the progress Lincoln County Hospital has made, particularly around assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision.
“The report describes an increase in activities and systems to manage and reduce risks to patients and reflects the success of the safety and quality dashboards that were launched across the Trust in December.
“In addition to the CQC’s report, my recent visits to the hospital have assured me that the Trust remains fully committed to addressing all the issues raised and that they are working very hard to identify where improvements can be made.”
To access the full report of the May 2012 inspection, visit the CQC website.
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Lincolnshire Police are warning people not to drive while under the influence of drugs or alcohol during the festive season.
In December 2019, some 1,369 people were breathalysed by the force, and a further 115 drivers were tested for drugs.
Of the drivers tested, 10% failed a roadside breath test and 40% tested positive for drugs.
Recent figures show that drivers are 23 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash if they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
A new campaign to combat this has been launched by Lincolnshire Police, and it will run from December 1 to January 1.
Officers will ask any driver who they suspect could be over the legal alcohol limit to provide a breath test, whether they have committed a traffic offence or are part of a crash, regardless of fault.
Similarly, if officers think somebody is impaired by drugs, the driver will be required to do a drugs wipe test.
Sergeant Adie Scargill from the roads policing using, said: “This year has been hard enough for people, yet some drivers risk making it harder by facing a criminal conviction and driving ban.
“This leads to a loss of job, increased financial difficulties which affect family and friends too.
“We don’t want to spoil anyone’s Christmas, so be responsible, don’t put yourself and others at risk of harm on the roads.”
Lincolnshire will move into tier 3 restrictions from Wednesday, as the UK moves out of the national coronavirus lockdown.
It kicks in at midnight on Wednesday, December 2, with all retail and hairdressers opening among other sectors.
Areas in tier 3, Greater Lincolnshire included, will not be allowed to have hospitality venues open, including pubs, restaurants and cafes, unless it is for a takeaway or collection service.
Accommodation such as hotels, B&Bs and guest houses must also stay closed, barring exceptional circumstances.
These exemptions include if someone is unable to return to their main residence, using it as their main residence or needs it to attend an event such as a funeral or work, among others.
The government has now published its rules for areas based on what tier they are in, with all still being advised to follow the rule of ‘Hands. Face. Space.’
Tier 3 doesn’t allow for anyone to meet socially indoors with anybody you don’t live with or have a support bubble with, unless legal exemptions apply.
You must also not meet people in a private garden or most outdoor venues, but the rule of six does apply in areas such as parks, playgrounds, outdoor sports facilities and public gardens.
There are exceptions to the rule of six in outdoor public spaces, where you can gather with more than six people, some of those include:
For work or providing voluntary services
For education, childcare and training
For supervised activities for children who were under 18 on August 31
For parent and toddler groups up to a maximum of 15 people (under-5s don’t count towards the limit)
For children who have separated parents or guardians
To allow contact between birth parents and children in care
For organised sport and physical activity, including elite sports
If you are attending a funeral (maximum of 30 people) or wedding (up to 15 people)
Providing emergency assistance or seeing someone who is dying
The Christmas exemptions
These rules do not apply for the Christmas period, with some rules lifted between December 23 and 27.
In these dates, you can form a Christmas bubble with people from up to three households, but must not change your bubble or be in more than one.
The only exception to this rule is for children under 18 who have separated parents that will not be in the same Christmas bubble.
You can travel between tiers for the purpose of meeting with your Christmas bubble, and you can meet them in private homes, places of worship or public outdoor spaces.
You can also form a different Christmas bubble to the people you normally live with, as long as you don’t exceed the three household rule.
University students are being given a travel window to get home for Christmas, with mass testing starting in Lincoln on Monday.
If these rules are broken, police can issue people with a first time offence fine of £200, doubling for further offences before reaching a maximum of £6,400.
Anyone involved with holding an illegal gathering over 30 people can fined £10,000.
To read the full list of guidelines, visit the gov.uk website.
Lincolnshire health bosses are confident the county can return to some of the lowest COVID-19 infection rates in England as it heads into 2021, but warned people need to “work our hardest now”.
Infection rates across the county have already shown signs of dropping. On Monday there were some 297 cases confirmed in the county, although three residents also died with the virus.
Andy Fox, Lincolnshire County Council’s consultant in public health, said the figures across the county were “tracking down broadly, which is really good” as we head into December.
“It’s an important time for us all. As we go into tier 3, we need to make this work for Lincolnshire and we need to work our hardest now, especially in the in the period before Christmas, to make sure we all follow those key tier 3 regulations,” he said.
“Although in Lincolnshire we might feel that we’re in a tougher place being in tier 3, in terms of preventing the virus, it’s a good place to be and it should mean that if we come down, we could end up going into 2021 as one of the lowest prevalence areas in the country.”
East Lindsey District Council, which had been third highest last week, dropped to 13th in Monday’s seven-day averages.
Most other districts also saw a drop, however, Boston jumped to second place nationally after infections spiked to 515.9 — that’s nearly double the county average of 270.5, and more than three times the England average of 167.8.
| Data: GOV UK / Table: The Lincolnite
Mr Fox said: “Boston has been heading in the wrong direction. We’ve seen a slow increase over the last couple of days. It is concerning.”
However, his suspicion is the rise was related to “a couple of outbreaks” leading to high spikes, which were “yet to clear out of the seven-day figures”.
These are understood to include care homes where asymptomatic testing is carried out on a regular basis.
He said the council’s own figures, which were ahead of the government ones shared with the media, suggested the infection rate would come down, but that health bosses were being cautious.
Lincolnshire cases up to November 30 (recent five days incomplete).
Lincoln city also saw a slight increase in its infection rate from 331.3 on November 27 to 338.4 per 100,000 — placing it 11th in the national rankings as of Monday.
Health bosses jumped on the chance to be included in the government’s mass community testing pilot, which is available for all tier three areas.
They are hoping to be able to use the new legislation to target key areas such as food factories and care homes.
Further details are still to be confirmed as to what local authorities can do, but the government is understood to be letting councils lead the pilots based on local knowledge.
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