Bosses who forced dying patients into ambulances when they shut a hospice without warning were today heavily criticised in a damning inspection report.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated Sue Ryder Wheatfields Hospice, in Leeds, inadequate and placed it into special measures amid concerns it is failing people receiving end-of-life care.
Some patients were left in pain, waiting for medication, because nurses were overstretched and managers failed to address understaffing issues, the watchdog’s blistering report said.
Inspectors branded the hospice leadership ‘ineffective’ and said their failings ‘directly contributed’ to poor care.
Nurses were also ‘let down’ by bosses who pressurised them into admitting more patients, placing people at ‘risk of harm,’ the report added. On at least 16 occasions, between November 2024 and March this year, there was only one nurse on duty, it said.
