Weston General Hospital
Encyclopedia
Weston General Hospital is an NHS
district general hospital in the town of Weston-super-Mare
, North Somerset
, England
operated by Weston Area Health NHS Trust
(WAHT). It has an Accident & Emergency department
, an intensive care unit
, an Oncology
and Haematology
day unit, and a day case unit. Weston General has 320 beds and 1,700 staff, and has the largest midwifery-led maternity unit in the country. The hospital also has a 12 bed private unit, The Waterside Suite, wholly owned by the hospital trust, with profits being re-invested into the main hospital.
, an independent body which promotes and drives quality healthcare in the United Kingdom, has inspected Weston General Hospital and published its findings. In the 2005/2006 period, on the quality of the healthcare it provided the hospital was rated as weak on a four point scale of weak, fair, good and excellent. This placed the hospital in the bottom performing 9% of trusts in the country.
On the same scale the hospital's use of resources was also rated weak, placing it in the bottom 37% of trusts in the country.
In the 2006/2007 period, the hospital's quality of healthcare score was upgraded to fair, but its use of resources rating remained at weak.
The hospital, like others, has had problems with hospital acquired infections such as MRSA
and Clostridium difficile
(C. diff). In 2003 the trust had the highest rate of MRSA infections in the country.
In August 2007 the hospital was criticised in the local press following the death of a 75 year old cancer patient from C diff.
Responding the hospital stated that it had reduced infection rates by 25% through 2007. Performance figures released by the trust in September 2007 showed that hospital acquired infection rates had fallen further with just one case of MRSA in August and 18 of C.Diff, compared with more than 30 just a few months previous. These improvements are attributed to a new "bare below the elbow" initiative to ensure that staff clean their hands and wrists, plus regular steam cleaning of patient beds.
On July 7, 2003, BBC Television
programme Inside Out broadcast allegations from a whistleblower
that senior management within the hospital were putting pressure on employees to manipulate waiting list statistics to make them look more favourable.
An independent enquiry in 2004 concluded that this manipulation did take place.
In 2006, one of the managers named by Inside Out lost a libel case
against the BBC, which had alleged that she was involved in the falsification of waiting lists.
Waiting lists are still a problem – in 2006 the hospital was one of only eight in the country that failed to reduce waiting times for treatment.
and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
) officially opened the Queen Alexandra Memorial Hospital on The Boulevard in 1928. Over the years, equipment was added and updated. Portable and temporary buildings were added to the hospital in an attempt to keep pace with the growing needs of the community.
With the growth in the town of Weston, and in particular around the area of Worle
, it became evident that the town needed a new hospital. Much debate took place resulting in a new hospital being built and opened on 16 September 1986, on the edge of Uphill
village.
In January 2003 the hospital opened a new oncology
and haematology day unit, the Jackson Barstow Wing was opened to treat patients from the surrounding area.
The new unit meant that patients could receive treatments, including chemotherapy
and blood transfusion
s without having to travel to Bristol
.
Weston General Hospital opened a new paediatric
unit, the Seashore Centre, in February 2007. The unit, which features paediatric outpatients and a ten bed day ward, was needed because the only major children's facilities in the region are located at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children and at Musgrove Park Hospital
in Taunton
.
, who use motorcycle
s to provide emergency out-of-hours transport of blood, diagnostic specimens and drugs;
and Sunshine Radio, a hospital radio
station manned by volunteers. The hospital also works closely with nearby Weston Hospicecare which provides palliative care
for patients with life threatening conditions such as cancer. The new children's centre was partly funded by an appeal, Weston Super Kids, backed by many in the town including the Mayor who made it her chosen charity for her year in office.
National Health Service (England)
The National Health Service or NHS is the publicly funded healthcare system in England. It is both the largest and oldest single-payer healthcare system in the world. It is able to function in the way that it does because it is primarily funded through the general taxation system, similar to how...
district general hospital in the town of Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare is a seaside resort, town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, which is within the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It is located on the Bristol Channel coast, south west of Bristol, spanning the coast between the bounding high ground of Worlebury...
, North Somerset
North Somerset
North Somerset is a unitary authority in England. Its area covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset but it is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county. Its administrative headquarters is in the town hall in Weston-super-Mare....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
operated by Weston Area Health NHS Trust
NHS Trust
A National Health Service trust provides services on behalf of the National Health Service in England and NHS Wales.The trusts are not trusts in the legal sense but are in effect public sector corporations. Each trust is headed by a board consisting of executive and non-executive directors, and is...
(WAHT). It has an Accident & Emergency department
Emergency department
An emergency department , also known as accident & emergency , emergency room , emergency ward , or casualty department is a medical treatment facility specialising in acute care of patients who present without prior appointment, either by their own means or by ambulance...
, an intensive care unit
Intensive care medicine
Intensive-care medicine or critical-care medicine is a branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis and management of life threatening conditions requiring sophisticated organ support and invasive monitoring.- Overview :...
, an Oncology
Oncology
Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...
and Haematology
Hematology
Hematology, also spelled haematology , is the branch of biology physiology, internal medicine, pathology, clinical laboratory work, and pediatrics that is concerned with the study of blood, the blood-forming organs, and blood diseases...
day unit, and a day case unit. Weston General has 320 beds and 1,700 staff, and has the largest midwifery-led maternity unit in the country. The hospital also has a 12 bed private unit, The Waterside Suite, wholly owned by the hospital trust, with profits being re-invested into the main hospital.
Performance
The Healthcare CommissionHealthcare Commission
The Healthcare Commission was a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department of Health of the United Kingdom. It was set up to promote and drive improvement in the quality of health care and public health in England and Wales...
, an independent body which promotes and drives quality healthcare in the United Kingdom, has inspected Weston General Hospital and published its findings. In the 2005/2006 period, on the quality of the healthcare it provided the hospital was rated as weak on a four point scale of weak, fair, good and excellent. This placed the hospital in the bottom performing 9% of trusts in the country.
On the same scale the hospital's use of resources was also rated weak, placing it in the bottom 37% of trusts in the country.
In the 2006/2007 period, the hospital's quality of healthcare score was upgraded to fair, but its use of resources rating remained at weak.
The hospital, like others, has had problems with hospital acquired infections such as MRSA
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. It is also called multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus...
and Clostridium difficile
Clostridium difficile
Clostridium difficile , also known as "CDF/cdf", or "C...
(C. diff). In 2003 the trust had the highest rate of MRSA infections in the country.
In August 2007 the hospital was criticised in the local press following the death of a 75 year old cancer patient from C diff.
Responding the hospital stated that it had reduced infection rates by 25% through 2007. Performance figures released by the trust in September 2007 showed that hospital acquired infection rates had fallen further with just one case of MRSA in August and 18 of C.Diff, compared with more than 30 just a few months previous. These improvements are attributed to a new "bare below the elbow" initiative to ensure that staff clean their hands and wrists, plus regular steam cleaning of patient beds.
On July 7, 2003, BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
programme Inside Out broadcast allegations from a whistleblower
Whistleblower
A whistleblower is a person who tells the public or someone in authority about alleged dishonest or illegal activities occurring in a government department, a public or private organization, or a company...
that senior management within the hospital were putting pressure on employees to manipulate waiting list statistics to make them look more favourable.
An independent enquiry in 2004 concluded that this manipulation did take place.
In 2006, one of the managers named by Inside Out lost a libel case
Slander and libel
Defamation—also called calumny, vilification, traducement, slander , and libel —is the communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government, or nation a negative image...
against the BBC, which had alleged that she was involved in the falsification of waiting lists.
Waiting lists are still a problem – in 2006 the hospital was one of only eight in the country that failed to reduce waiting times for treatment.
History
Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VIGeorge VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
) officially opened the Queen Alexandra Memorial Hospital on The Boulevard in 1928. Over the years, equipment was added and updated. Portable and temporary buildings were added to the hospital in an attempt to keep pace with the growing needs of the community.
With the growth in the town of Weston, and in particular around the area of Worle
Worle
Worle is a village in North Somerset that is now totally absorbed by the seaside town of Weston-super-Mare. Despite this, Worle pre-dates Weston and was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. In the book, it is said that Worle was owned by Walter of Douai, and consisted of and valued at 6.5...
, it became evident that the town needed a new hospital. Much debate took place resulting in a new hospital being built and opened on 16 September 1986, on the edge of Uphill
Uphill
Uphill is a village on the edge of Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, England.-History:There is evidence of a port at Uphill since Roman times, probably for the export of lead from the Mendip Hills...
village.
In January 2003 the hospital opened a new oncology
Oncology
Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...
and haematology day unit, the Jackson Barstow Wing was opened to treat patients from the surrounding area.
The new unit meant that patients could receive treatments, including chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
and blood transfusion
Blood transfusion
Blood transfusion is the process of receiving blood products into one's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used in a variety of medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood...
s without having to travel to Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
.
Weston General Hospital opened a new paediatric
Pediatrics
Pediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...
unit, the Seashore Centre, in February 2007. The unit, which features paediatric outpatients and a ten bed day ward, was needed because the only major children's facilities in the region are located at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children and at Musgrove Park Hospital
Musgrove Park Hospital
Musgrove Park Hospital is a large NHS hospital located in Taunton, Somerset. Originally a US Army General Hospital during the Second World War, it became an NHS hospital in 1949.-About the hospital:...
in Taunton
Taunton
Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the shire county of Somerset....
.
Voluntary organisations
The hospital is served by a number of voluntary organisations including an active League of Friends whose volunteers staff the hospital shop and raise money for projects within the hospital; Freewheelers EVSFreewheelers EVS
Freewheelers Emergency Voluntary Service is a registered charity based in South West England. The charity was founded in Weston-super-Mare in 1990....
, who use motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
s to provide emergency out-of-hours transport of blood, diagnostic specimens and drugs;
and Sunshine Radio, a hospital radio
Hospital radio
Hospital radio is a form of audio broadcasting produced specifically for the in-patients of hospitals. It is primarily found in the United Kingdom.-History:...
station manned by volunteers. The hospital also works closely with nearby Weston Hospicecare which provides palliative care
Palliative care
Palliative care is a specialized area of healthcare that focuses on relieving and preventing the suffering of patients...
for patients with life threatening conditions such as cancer. The new children's centre was partly funded by an appeal, Weston Super Kids, backed by many in the town including the Mayor who made it her chosen charity for her year in office.
External links
- Trust website
- Sunshine Hospital Radio - manned by volunteers
- Weston Hospicecare - hospice located close to the hospital in Uphill