Concerns have been raised that hospital patients were sharing rooms designed for just a single bed.
Inspectors made an unannounced visit to DGRI – where all the wards were created for single-patient occupancy.
However, the team from Healthcare Improvement Scotland discovered in March that “several wards had increased the number of patients they cared for at any one time” by creating additional beds for “double occupancy”.
And although inspectors discovered all double occupancy patients had access to a call system and wall-mounted oxygen, they also noticed “challenges in maintaining dignity and respect for patients as not all rooms had privacy screens available”.
On one occasion, a patient had to be taken into the corridor so the other patient was given privacy.
When the matter was raised with managers, they were told additional screens had been ordered.
The hospital was running at 103 per cent capacity when inspectors made their visit.
They discovered different versions of a risk assessment on which patients were suitable for double occupancy were being used.
And although patients told them they had agreed to double occupancy, the risk assessment did not include a section on consent.
But the report also revealed double occupancy “did not appear to have a negative impact on patient safety”, with no “obvious increase in patient falls”. Inspectors issued seven requirements following their visit, two connect to the issue of double occupancy.
There was also one recommendation and five areas of good practice – such as “positive, respectful interactions between staff, patients and relatives” as well as “effective leadership and management”. The report states that at the time of the visit, the hospital had been experiencing “a significant range of pressures including increased hospital admissions, increased waiting times in admission units and reduced staff availability.”
However, despite that, the inspectors noticed that “the majority of areas were calm and well organised with visible leadership and multidisciplinary teamwork to support the safe delivery of care”.
A spokesman for NHS Dumfries and Galloway said: “We welcome the findings of the Healthcare Improvement Scotland unannounced inspection, which are generally positive but do obviously bring with them welcome thoughts for how performance can continue to improve.
“DGRI is intended to operate on a 100 per cent single-room model. However, our surge planning for times of extreme busyness identifies a small number of rooms on each ward that can accommodate two patients in line with required
standards.
“We do recognise that privacy has been an occasional issue, and one that we have worked to
address. We are working on a number of initiatives designed to improve flow of patients through to discharge from hospital.”
