Undercover investigation alleges security issues at Tameside Hospital during Covid-19 pandemic

A RETIRED magistrate has uncovered apparent security issues at Tameside General Hospital which he claimed has compromised patient safety during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Property consultant Stephen Gooderson has undertaken an undercover investigation with a group he formed called ‘19’ over the last four months which he alleged has highlighted major failings, something denied by the Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust which said a manned presence is “not a necessary requirement”.

The issues mainly relate to entrances being unmanned by security guards, leaving people frequently unchallenged when they enter the hospital.

Mr Gooderson, who lives in Stalybridge, made a Freedom of Information request to the Trust which they acknowledged receipt of on January 13.

The question he sent through Dwyers Solicitors was: “Please confirm that during the present Covid emergency that all Tameside Hospital entrances are guarded 24 hours a day and, when the security guards are not on duty, their security stations are covered by relief security.”

A reply dated February 5 read: “The Trust can confirm that during the present Covid-19 emergency all main entrances to buildings, which provide patient and visitor access, are covered throughout the day by a manned presence. Overnight these doors are locked, except for the doors to the emergency department which are covered by the security department.”

However, Mr Gooderson’s friends visited the hospital on February 10, 11, 12, 15 and 16 and each time were able to photograph or film unmanned entrances and enter and exit the building unchallenged.

They visit between two and four times each week and have a file containing dozens of photographs of unmanned entrances and patients smoking outside which is not permitted.

Mr Gooderson, a charity fundraiser for 40 years and co-founder of the Mandy Turner Scanner Appeal, added he has quizzed security guards about cover when they need a meal or toilet break and they have admitted to him there is none so people can then enter the hospital freely and unchallenged.

And Mr Gooderson, who has received two visits to his home by police to be questioned about his visits to the hospital, said responsibilities lie at the door of hospital chief executive Karen James.

He said: “She either knows what is happening and is incapable of putting it right or is unaware the procedures in place are not working as they should be.

“It is her responsibility to know and either way she is responsible as CEO.”

Mr Gooderson, who explained the BBC and two national newspapers are pursuing the story, added: “If someone doesn’t do anything it will carry on.

“I cannot prove it, but I would find it hard to believe there have not been casualties because of these lapses.”

To add weight to that argument, Mr Gooderson pointed to the fact that one week during the pandemic Tameside Hospital had the highest Covid death date in the country, adding there have been outbreaks of coronavirus within the hospital.

Mr Gooderson’s investigation was sparked by a visit for an appointment at the hospital in October.
He said: “I came out early and had to wait 20 minutes for my wife to pick me up.

“A lady, who was in her 20s, came out of the main entrance in her pyjamas and dressing gown and got into a car and began smoking along with the occupant.

“In the confined space of a car she could easily have caught Covid and then transmitted it when she returned to her ward. She wasn’t wearing a mask and didn’t sanitise her hands when she went back into the building.”

Mr Gooderson informed a security guard of his concerns asking that it be reported.

“That is how it kicked off and I then wrote to the hospital and to MPs Angela Rayner and Jonathan Reynolds,” he said.

“Further investigations showed a surprising lack of security with unguarded entrances allowing people to freely access and exit the hospital unchallenged, no sanitising or wearing face masks.

“My argument from day one is that if you have put in as much precaution as possible, you have done your best.

“The hospital admitted they knew about it at the start, but the hospital has fobbed me off and I have been bullied.

“I have been escorted off the premises by security guards who said I should not be there and had two visits at home by police who questioned me.

“The police acted politely because they had been asked to do a job. I would say they were acutely embarrassed because there was nowhere to go with the interview.”

And Mr Gooderson added in correspondence with the hospital, their replies have focused on him visiting without an appointment and failed to address the concerns he raised.

Mr Gooderson has witnessed letters from worried NHS staff and patients about the issues.

They include one from a doctor who said the hospital had “previous form”.

“They performed badly during the MRSA outbreaks. Were no lessons learned?,” he wrote.

In an email sent to Mr Gooderson on November 25, Trust deputy chief executive Trish Cavanagh addressed some of his specific observations.

The Trust, in response to Mr Gooderson’s claims, said: “Throughout the ongoing response to the Covid-19 pandemic, all the main entrances to the Trust’s buildings, which provide patient and visitor access, are manned during the day and locked overnight except for the doors to the emergency department which are covered by the security department.

“A manned presence during these times is not a necessary requirement over and above the other processes that are in place.

“In addition, staff are in place at all the hospital’s main entrances to explain infection prevention and control requirements to visitors in relation to sanitising their hands on entry and exit to the buildings and ensuring that face masks are worn at all times.

“Alongside a physical security presence, the Trust has clear signage and instructions reinforcing the need to maintain social distancing.

“Where patients attend the hospital for clinical appointments they are supported on entry to ensure they are compliant with our infection prevention and control policies by staff located within the building immediately adjacent to the entry and exit points. Avoiding transmission of the virus is a priority for the Trust and for all of its staff.”

• Mr Gooderson formed 19 as a voluntary organisation in March 2020 to source, fund and supply local NHS outlets in Tameside with PPE when they were suffering acute shortages.
To date, they have donated about £50,000 of supplies with a further shipment expected mid-March.