Hospital bosses told to make A&E improvements

Hospital bosses have been told to make improvements to an emergency department following an inspection by the health regulator.

Derriford Hospital, run by University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, has had its urgent and emergency care services re-rated as 'requires improvement' after an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in October.

The CQC said it carried out the latest inspection to check on the progress the hospital had made after it was previously rated 'requires improvement' in March 2024.

The chief executive of the Trust said the report found "some strong improvements in the quality of care" and accepted "nobody wants to see" long waits in the emergency department.

The CQC said inspectors found the service had made "strong improvements" since the last visit, but work was needed to ensure people's privacy and dignity were maintained when they received care, especially in corridors.

The CQC report said the service remained in breach of regulations in relation to safe care, treatment, dignity and respect, and good management.

The regulator said the trust had been told to produce an action plan to address concerns.

Catherine Campbell, CQC deputy director of hospitals, secondary and specialist care for the South West, said: "Following our inspection of Derriford's emergency department, we found a service that's worked hard to improve since our last visit.

"However, the continued high number of people attending the department is placing significant pressure on the service, which is affecting the consistency and safety of care."

Campbell said during the inspection some areas were "particularly crowded".

"Limited space meant some people were being cared for on trolleys in corridors, which isn't always appropriate for safe treatment.

"In these conditions, some people waited too long to be seen by a doctor, and staff weren't always able to fully protect people's privacy and dignity, with sensitive conversations sometimes overheard."

Neil Macdonald, chief executive for University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, said: "The CQC did point out there had been some strong improvements in the quality of care.

"I thought this was a positive endorsement, particularly the people working here who were widely shown to be caring, professional, and really skilled."

He added: "Nobody likes to see long waits in the emergency department... these are our friends, families, loved ones, and clearly if they're having to wait in a corridor for their care to get into the department, no one wants to see that."

He said looking forward they would need to look at getting specialists out into the community and getting better at allowing people to get home quicker.

"This hospital is clearly not just for the people of Plymouth, we provide specialist care, specialist trauma, neurosurgery, cardiac surgery for the whole of the peninsula across Devon and Cornwall," Macdonald said.

"We want to give equal care and attention to everybody who comes into our hospital, and we'll only do that by creating more space, but also keeping people healthy in the first place," he added.

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