HOSPITAL bosses have announced an independent review is to take place into dignity and nutrition at the Alex Hospital.

The move follows the damning Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection which showed major concerns in these areas.

The review, into all the county’s hospitals, is one of a series of actions announced at a meeting of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust’s Board.

Trust chairman Harry Turner said: “Following the visit by the CQC inspection team on March 22, immediate action was put in place on both the wards in question, and across our hospitals, to ensure that standards were raised immediately.

“These actions have been implemented and monitored and will be reported monthly to the board and in the response to the CQC.

“It remains a fact though that we have let down our patients, community and ourselves and we need to get to the bottom of why we weren’t compliant with these standards, and importantly, why we didn’t know we weren’t compliant.”

The CQC report found nurses sometimes left patients so thirsty that doctors had to add "drinking water" to hospital charts.

Meals were served and taken to the bedside of people who were asleep or not sitting in the right position to eat and hot dinners and puddings were left to go cold.

The report also said that inspectors saw one person's meal was taken away because they did not want it and no replacement offered.

Mr Turner added: “The independent review will aim to ensure that the immediate actions that were put in place, along with those additional actions that have been announced, are sustainable.

“In addition, the review will provide learning which can be used throughout the trust in relation to our systems and processes and ensure quality care provision.”