Official warning from CQC for Derriford

OVERCROWDING IN A&E WAS MAJOR ISSUE FOR INSPECTORS

- ABIGAIL NICHOLSON

DERRIFORD Hospital has received an official warning from health watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) over concerns of overcrowding in A&E.

The CQC completed an unannounced inspection at Derriford Hospital, run by University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, after concerns were raised over access to the emergency department.

Following the inspection, the trust was issued with a warning notice to make rapid and widespread improvements to keep people safe and improve access to avoid overcrowding in the emergency department.

When inspectors visited the hospital, they found one person whose relative was told there may be a 48-hour wait to be admitted into hospital, while others were experiencing long waits in ambulances.

They also noted that the A&E waiting room still overcrowded with people experiencing long waits to be triaged, treated or discharged.

Urgent and emergency care at Derriford Hospital has been rated as 'requires improvement. Catherine Campbell, CQC deputy director of operations in the South, said: "On previous inspections, we had highlighted the pressures at Derriford Hospital being mainly due to limited availability of social care beds and community care, which impacted on the number of medically fit people able to be discharged. That hindered flow throughout the hospital, causing people to experience long delays.