Patient records at Princess Kate’s hospital were ‘easily available’ to doctors and nurses, watchdog found before ‘hack’
PATIENT records at the hospital being probed for an alleged “hack” to gain access to the medical details of the Princess of Wales were “easily available” to doctors and nurses, a watchdog previously found.
But a Care Quality Commission (CQC) report concluded that records were “stored securely” at The London Clinic, where the Princess, 42, stayed for 13 days in January following abdominal surgery.
Inspectors praised staff for treating patients with “compassion and dignity” as well as respecting their “privacy and dignity”.
The unannounced inspection took place in June 2021 after the CQC “received information that gave us concerns about the safety and quality of services,” the MailOnline reports.
The report said: “Those concerns arose from several never events and serious incidents and numerous whistle-blowers around staffing and culture.”
‘GOOD’ OVERALL RATING
The CQC report gave the hospital in Marylebone, central London, and overall rating of “good” but it found that leadership and governance required improvement.
Three workers at The London Clinic are currently being investigation over claims they tried to access Kate’s private medical records and are believed to have been suspended.
Bosses at the hospital have refused to confirm when they were first made aware of the allegation, whether anyone had been suspended, or if any private information was accessed.
In the CQC report, published in September 2021, is said: “Staff kept detailed records of patients’ care and treatment.
“Records were clear, up-to-date, stored securely and easily available to all staff providing care.
“Patient’s records were held in paper format and also electronically. Paper based records were stored securely in clocked cupboards at the nurses’ stations. Staff could access patient records easily.
“We reviewed eight patient records across inpatient surgical wards and the pre-assessment unit. Patient records were detailed and staff had signed and dated all entries.
“All inpatient records had care plans which identified all their care needs. Care plans had been reviewed when required.”
While the report did award the hospital a “good” rating overall, in conclusion to the question “Are services well led?” it concluded “requires improvement”.
The report highlighted issues including “an inconsistent approach to managing patient safety incidents” and learning from them not always being “used to improve patient care”.
Also coming in for criticism were that some policies were out of date with “ineffective systems to review them”, as well as a failure to have “strong systems for monitoring the outcome of care and treatment”.
The report said: “Some of the local audit results including controlled drug compliance audits, care bundle audit and consents audits were consistently below the provider’s target for the period reviewed.
“The service did not investigate complaints fully and lessons learned were not always shared with staff. Leaders did not always have the skills and abilities to run the service.
“The service did not always operate effective governance processes. Staff at all levels were unclear about their roles and accountabilities but did have opportunities to meet, discuss the performance of the service.
“Leaders and teams used systems to manage performance. However, risks were not always identified and escalated appropriately.
“The service collected data and analysed it. However, staff could not always find the data they needed, in easily accessible formats to understand performance, make decisions and improvements.”
WARNING NOTICE
Due to the problems, the CQC submitted a Warning Notice to the hospital under section 29 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 requiring it to show how it was making governance improvements and meeting its legal obligations.
The hospital did receive praise in the report for other areas, saying: “Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, and took account of their individual needs.
“Staff were discreet and responsive when caring for patients. Staff took time to interact with patients and those close to them in a respectful and considerate way.”
It stated: “Staff had training in key skills and understood how to protect patients from abuse.
“The service controlled infection risks well. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records.
Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions
CQC report
“Staff gave patients enough to eat and drink and gave them pain relief when they needed it. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, advised them on how to lead healthier lives, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information.
“Key services were available seven days a week.
“Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions.
“They provided emotional support to patients, families and carers. The service planned care to meet the needs of local people and took account of patients’ individual needs.
“People could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait too long for treatment. Some staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care.
“Leaders and staff actively and openly engaged with patients, staff, equality groups, the public and local organisations to plan and manage services.
“They collaborated with partner organisations to help improve services for patients.”
While the hospital’s cleanliness procedures were also praised, it highlighted seven incidents between January and June 2021 when female patients arrived at the theatres without having had valid pregnancy tests.
There is no place at our hospital for those who intentionally breach the trust of any of our patients or colleagues
The London Clinic's chief executive Al Russell
It also highlighted the hospital was “highly dependent” on agency staff but added they were all made aware of procedures before shifts.
Anonymous staff members had complained about a “cultural problem” where some felt “their voices were silenced or unheard when raising concerns to senior managers”.
Others said they believed “there was a strong culture of fear amongst junior members of staff”.
The CQC carried out a follow up visit to the hospital in November 2021 which found “improvements had been made in the majority of areas noted within the warning notice”.
However, it added inspectors still had “concerns relating to the handling of complaints”.
Health minister Maria Caulfield yesterday said police had been asked to look into allegations about a staff member attempting to access the records of the Princess.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has also confirmed that it is looking into an alleged breach.
The London Clinic’s chief executive Al Russell said in a statement: “Everyone at The London Clinic is acutely aware of our individual, professional, ethical and legal duties with regards to patient confidentiality.
“We take enormous pride in the outstanding care and discretion we aim to deliver for all our patients that put their trust in us every day.
“We have systems in place to monitor management of patient information and, in the case of any breach, all appropriate investigatory, regulatory and disciplinary steps will be taken.
“There is no place at our hospital for those who intentionally breach the trust of any of our patients or colleagues.”
Details of Princess Kate’s medical condition have not been disclosed with Kensington Palace only saying she was having abdominal surgery, it was not cancer-related and she wished for her medical information to stay private.