Six months of inspections at Suburban Community Hospital: December 2023 to May
The East Norriton hospital was cited for insufficient staff.
Suburban Community Hospital in East Norriton was cited twice by state health inspectors for insufficient staffing that contributed to an unsafe environment for patients and delayed needed imaging services.
The incidents were among four times state inspectors visited the hospital, which is owned by Prime Healthcare Foundation, to investigate potential safety problems between December 2023 and May.
» READ MORE: Prime Healthcare Services plans to downsize Suburban Community to a micro-hospital
Here’s a look at the publicly available details:
Dec. 27: Inspectors visited for a routine monitoring survey and found the hospital in compliance.
Mar. 5: Inspectors followed up on an earlier violation related to the hospital’s geriatric care unit and found the hospital was now in compliance. In November, the hospital had been cited for not alerting the state health department of plans to temporarily close its geriatric behavioral health unit.
Apr. 1: Investigators cited the hospital for failing to report insufficient staffing for CT services on 17 dates between November and March. Inspectors found that a patient had waited more than 7 hours for an urgent CT scan, also known as a CAT scan, in November because no CT staff was available at the time. The hospital said it had updated its policies to immediately notify the state when it was diverting patients due to insufficient staffing.
May 15: Investigators cited the hospital for failing to have sufficient on-call staff to cover its operating rooms outside normal operating hours on 67 days between January and mid-May. The hospital’s operating rooms are fully staffed weekdays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. On-call staff are supposed to be available outside those hours, on weekends and on holidays. The hospital said it is in the process of hiring additional staff to cover on-call shortages.