Hospital must do more to improve, says watchdog

The unannounced inspection of the hospital's medical care took place in March

A hospital where emergency care patients were found to be at "risk of harm" has now been told its medical care must improve by the health watchdog.

An unannounced Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection of Aintree University Hospital in March found there was not always enough staff to meet the needs of patients.

Inspectors also said people were not always cared for in the right place "which had the potential to impact safety".

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, said it recognises there are areas to improve and it was "taking action" to address them.

It comes after emergency care patients were found to be "at risk of harm" in previous inspection published in January 2023.

Rating unchanged

The hospital provides acute care for about 330,000 people in north Liverpool, south Sefton and Kirkby.

Its overall CQC rating for its medical care remains as "requires improvement" as does its ratings in the safe, effective, responsive and well-led categories.

The CQC said it did not inspect its capacity for the "caring" category, which remains rated as "good".

Inspectors said staff knew how to plan and deliver care in line with current standards and good practice.

The review also stated staff were recruited safely and had training and supervision to ensure they had the skills and knowledge they needed.

Inspectors also praised leaders for tackling inequalities "to ensure there was an equal access of care".

They said it actively sought to "improve access for people more likely to experience barriers or delays in accessing their care".

However, the report said while steps were in place to promote a positive culture of speaking up "not all staff felt the freedom to speak up process was confidential, or that leaders sensitively investigated concerns".

Dr Peter Turkington, executive managing director of Aintree University Hospital, said: "Our priority is to provide safe, high-quality care in a timely manner.

"We are committed to improving and remain engaged with the CQC to understand the detail behind the findings of their report, which we received in September following their inspection of medical care services in March.

"Our teams work incredibly hard in circumstances that can at times be very challenging.

"I am pleased that inspectors found our staff and leaders working together to address inequalities, mitigating staffing gaps to keep people safe, and using people’s feedback to improve services.

"We recognise there are areas to improve and we are taking action to address these."