The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has lowered the rating for Whittington Hospital’s urgent and emergency services from good to requires improvement, following an inspection in October.
The Whittington Hospital is run by Whittington Health NHS Trust. This inspection was carried out in response to safety concerns raised to CQC.
CQC has again rated urgent and emergency services requires improvement for safe. Inspectors lowered the department’s rating from good to requires improvement for well-led. CQC again rated it good for effective, caring, and responsive.
Carolyn Jenkinson, CQC deputy director of hospitals, said:
“When we inspected the emergency department, we found staff working very hard to meet people’s needs under very high pressure.
“The trust faced issues with the high number of people attending the department and delays in treatment or admission to the hospital, creating overcrowding. This isn’t something the trust could solve alone, and further support was needed from the local health and care system to address this.
“Some people had to be cared for in corridors, but the trust had deployed extra staff to reduce the risks from this and staff were doing their best to keep people comfortable. However, impacts on people’s safety and privacy remained. For example, staff weren’t always checking thoroughly for sepsis, which could be dangerous if someone began deteriorating.
“Despite this pressure, people said that staff were kind and supportive and made them feel safe, even at very busy times. They listened and communicated with people well, and responded quickly if someone needed them.
“The management was aware of and responding to many of the risks we found. However, they hadn’t addressed some significant concerns yet, including a shortage of paediatric staff that was further pressuring the department.
“We’ve shared our findings with them and will continue to monitor the service to ensure people are safe while improvements are being made.”
Inspectors found:
- People with mental health needs faced the longest waits in the emergency department, due to shortages of mental health beds.
- In the paediatric department, staff had to supervise people with mental health needs at all times, impacting their privacy, as there were no ligature-free rooms available.
- Leaders hadn’t resolved some maintenance issues, such as a toilet with a leak in the ceiling.
- Leaders hadn’t provided all staff mandatory training which met the trust’s targets.
However:
- Staff worked together well and provided people evidence-based care.
- Staff adapted care to people’s individual needs, including by making adjustments for disabled people.
- Staff provided sandwiches and snacks for people waiting a short time in the emergency department, and hot meals for people staying longer.