Hospital under fire over poor standards

An NHS trust has been lambasted for the poor care given to older people at one of its hospitals, where a ward sister attempted to murder two patients in 2002.

The Healthcare Commission said it found several systems failings, including poor leadership and a failure to learn from complaints, at Leighton Hospital, run by Mid- Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

The probe was launched following the conviction last year of sister Barbara Salisbury on two counts of attempted murder.

The commission found that patients were often not helped to take their medication, eat or drink, while some were prevented from going to the toilet in time because of inattentive staff.

There were “numerous examples” of medicine rounds being late and tablets being left out of patients’ reach.

The commission called for a greater priority to be given to older people’s care, and for the trust to ensure patients were treated with more dignity and respect.

The trust said it had started implementing an action plan to address the failings.