News / Health
Southmead A&E rated ‘inadequate’ again
Accident emergency services at the flagship new Southmead Hospital have been deemed inadequate for the second time this year.
The Care Quality Commission called for improvements in February after a report found A&E patients were left waiting on trolleys for over 12 hours until a bed became available.
A new report released on Friday found the A&E and urgent care units were still inadequate, posing a risk to patient safety.
The trust which runs the hospital said it takes the findings “extremely seriously”.
The report said the emergency department was “found to be unsafe” at times. It added: “Staffing levels were not increased to reflect predictable activity surges. Patients did not always receive timely analgesia.
“Staff deployed to the emergency department to support in times of overcrowding in the crossroads area did not always have the skills or experience required.”
The CQC said it would take “further action if required”.
Andrea Young, cheif executive of North Bristol NHS Trrust said: “The inspection took place on an exceptionally busy day and patients were waiting unacceptable lengths of time for admission to the main wards and had to wait in areas that were not conducive to our staff being able to deliver high quality care.
“To provide absolute assurance, our clinical team carried out a thorough review of the notes of all patients from that day and were satisfied that no one came to harm.
“Thanks to the enormous efforts and commitment of our staff, we are now in a much better place and significant improvements have been made, which has been acknowledged by the CQC.”