Patients wait 24 hours for hospital bed - watchdog

Patients at a Brighton hospital have had to wait more than 24 hours at A&E for a bed, according to a report.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) found "new concerns" with emergency care at the Royal Sussex County Hospital, which it re-rated as "requires improvement".

Some people were being cared for in corridors, which didn't protect their privacy and dignity, it added.

Dr Andy Heeps, chief executive of the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, said "significant steps" had been taken to address the report's findings.

The hospital was working to introduce new ways of assessing and caring for people outside hospital - helping to reduce the need for A&E in the first place, Dr Heeps added.

The CQC's Amanda Williams said inspectors found the A&E was "severely affected by poor flow across the hospital, leading to delayed ambulance handovers and excessively long waits for admission".

Some people told inspectors during their visit in February they felt frustrated and weren't always kept informed about their care, she added.

"On the day of our visit, 11 people had been in the emergency department for more than 24 hours waiting for a bed," Ms Williams continued.

The CQC also found that senior leaders did not always take sufficient action during overcrowding, while staff did not always get "timely responses to keep people safe".

The watchdog said it has told the trust where immediate action was needed to "improve safety and mitigate risks".

The hospital had opened a new acute medical unit to help ease pressures and was moving patients to other wards at an earlier stage where possible, according to Dr Heeps.

The CQC report upgraded maternity services at the Royal Sussex County Hospital from "inadequate" to "requires improvement", after inspectors found "several improvements".

But it added more work was needed to ensure services were "fully effective" in meeting the needs of women and babies.

"People using the service told us staff treated them with compassion and kindness," said the CQC's Ms Williams.

"We observed strong teamwork between doctors, midwives, and other healthcare professionals.

"However, we also found new concerns," she continued.

Issues identified with maternity services included the design and environment of the maternity unit and that there was only one obstetric theatre.

Dr Heeps welcomed the CQC's recognition of the progress made at Brighton's maternity department.

"While the service has moved up a level overall, we totally accept that we need to go further," he said.

"We are continually talking with families and staff to understand what more we can do."

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