‘Inadequate’ A&Es failing to protect patient safety

ACCIDENT and emergency departments at the Worcester Royal and Alexandra Hospital in Redditch have been branded ‘inadequate’ amid safety fears.

Inspectors from the Care Quality Commision (CQC) visited the emergency departments at both hospitals on December 16, 2019, prompted by concerns.

They found patients were waiting too long for treatment and were often being treated in corridors. And some people arriving by ambulance were made to wait three hours before being handed over to emergency staff.

Both departments had previously been rated as requires improvement, following a comprehensive inspection in May 2019.

“Our latest inspection of emergency departments at Worcestershire Royal Hospital and Alexandra Hospital found patients waited too long for assessment and treatment,” said CQC chief inspector of hospitals, Professor Ted Baker.

“At Worcestershire Royal Hospital, the trust failed to meet national standards requiring clinical assessment of 95 per cent of ambulanceconveyed patients within 15 minutes of arrival. Patients remained on trolleys for extended periods, due to lack of space in the department for them to be transferred to a more appropriate hospital bed. “Overcrowding was our biggest concern in Alexandra Hospital’s emergency department.

“The layout of the department and too few cubicles led to it becoming overwhelmed quickly, posing a risk to patient safety. “Underpinning the issues in both departments was a lack of capacity and capability in the trust and wider health system.

“CQC has raised these issues since 2015, but the response so far has been insufficient and new improvement plans have not been progressed enough to take effect.” The CQC has now imposed conditions on the Trust’s registration. The Worcester Acute Hospitals NHS Trust will be required to carry out clinical assessment of all patients arriving at Worcestershire Royal’s emergency department by ambulance within 15 minutes, ensuring the sickest patients are quickly identified. They must also undertake risk assessments of patients so people receive timely referral to the most appropriate clinical area.

The trust has apologised to patients for the failures of the A&E department and says it will open 33 new beds at Worcester next week. Matthew Hopkins, chief executive of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We know that some patients are still waiting too long to get into our emergency departments or are spending too long in the emergency departments waiting to be moved on to a ward.

“On behalf of the trust and all of our partners across the county, we apologise for this.”