INSPECTORS found staff at a hospital overwhelmed with paperwork, struggling to provide patients’ meals and facing unachievable discharge targets.

Healthwatch North Yorkshire said an announced inspection of the Friarage Hospital, Northallerton, in November revealed that while the general infirmary was operating to a good standard of care in some areas, the accident and emergency department was not dementia-friendly.

The report said as the South Tess NHS Trust hospital, which offers a range of specialist regional services to 1.5 million people in the Tees Valley, parts of Durham and North Yorkshire, had no specific dementia wards, frail elderly patients could be sent to wards that may not cater for their needs.

It said: “The level of specific dementia training on some wards was surprisingly low.

“Staff in accident and emergency were not aware of how dementia patients were identified.”

The inspectors said the hospital’s staff were “very passionate and committed”, but struggled to manage excessive paperwork and more volunteers should be recruited to help at mealtimes.

A patient in the rehabilitation unit told Healthwatch his breakfast was regularly so late that he missed his physiotherapy appointment.

Healthwatch also urged the trust to consider asking all patients on admission and discharge whether they looked after anyone, and use the information to identify appropriate support within the community for the cared for person.

The report concluded: “Discharge procedures are largely effective, although some targets are considered unachievable.”

It also found changes from 24-hour consultant-led paediatric and maternity units to daytime and midwife-led services, introduced seven weeks earlier, appeared to be succeeding, but needed further monitoring.

Responding to the report, the trust said a dementia educator had started at the hospital last month.

It said: “The trust is committed to continue educating all staff and increase their knowledge about dementia to ensure our patients receive high standards of safe care.”

The trust said it was reviewing the amount of paperwork staff faced as it looked to standardise and streamline the paperwork used across the organisation, and had implemented electronic recording of physiological observations.

It added its discharge policy was also under review and that all nursing staff were encouraged to establish if patient are carers on admission.

The trust said while changes in nursing practice had helped to alleviate problems with feeding patients, it would explore if additional volunteer support could be provided at meal times.