Hospital warned over A&E safety risks as watchdog says emergency departments face ‘exceptional pressure’

Hospital faces threat of action from regulator over overcrowding in its A&E department

Derriford Hospital was inspected by the CQC earlier this month (Getty Images)

An NHS hospital has been threatened with possible formal action by the Care Quality Commission after inspectors identified “immediate safety” concerns for patients.

The Independent has learned the watchdog sent a formal letter of intent to University Hospitals Plymouth Trust after a visit by inspectors to the A&E department of Derriford Hospital at the beginning of this month.

The letter warned the CQC had concerns about the service and was considering regulatory action that could include the trust being issued with a formal warning notice or having conditions placed on it.

Sources at the trust said the inspectors identified a range of concerns within the A&E department posed an immediate risks to patients.

This included corridor care for patients in the A&E and overcrowding causing long delays for ambulances in handing over patients. The inspection also highlighted concerns over infection risks to patients.

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It comes as the CQC warned in a separate report that A&E departments across the country faced “exceptional pressure” as a result of normal winter pressures and the pandemic.

In a review ofurgent and emergency care services across eight areas in England, the CQC said: “We have seen some good examples of how systems are working together to respond to this. However, we are continuing to find significant problems of access and capacity in these services, and whole systems need to work together to make further improvements if providers are to manage future pressures better.”

Ted Baker, CQC’s chief inspector of hospitals, told The Independent: “We carried out a focused inspection of the emergency department at Derriford Hospital, part of University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, on 8 March.

“Following the inspection we asked the trust to provide us with information as to how they would address the concerns identified, and this has since been received.

“A report on the full findings of the inspection including any action the trust needs to take will be published as soon as possible.”

A spokesperson for the trust said: “We had an unannounced inspection at the start of March of two areas. We received a mix of positive praise and some concerns back. We have provided further information to the CQC as requested, taken immediate action to address the concerns and we await the full report.”

Rules on infection control during Covid have seen ambulances forced to wait for hours outside many hospitals with patients in the backs of ambulances.

The government has allocated £300m to upgrade 117 hospital trusts’ A&E departments in the wake of coronavirus.