Hospital patients 'treated in unsafe areas'

Arrowe Park's medical service and emergency service was downgraded from 'good' to 'requires improvement'

Patients were treated in "unsafe and unsuitable" areas as Arrowe Park Hospital struggled to cope with the level of demand amid pressure on staffing levels, inspectors found.

Emergency services and medical care at the Birkenhead hospital were rated as "requiring improvement" after a snap inspection by healthcare regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in May triggered by "concerns".

It has downgraded each service from their previous rating of "good" - due largely to difficulties with staffing and finding beds for patients.

Janelle Holmes, chief executive of Wirral University Teaching Hospital Foundation Trust (WUTH), said the CQC feedback would "help us make improvements".

In the emergency department, inspectors found leaders had improved staffing levels but "numbers didn't always meet demand".

The CQC said: "People were frequently treated in unsuitable and unsafe areas, including corridors, with little privacy or dignity."

'Significant pressure'

It said inspectors observed "inconsistencies" with the oversight of patients - describing how one person was left 19 hours before a medical review due to an administration error.

It described how medical services "didn't always have enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff due to shortfalls in mandatory training in some staff groups".

Senior leaders at the hospital acknowledged that patient flow - moving patients through the hospital - was one of the "biggest challenges" at Arrowe Park with bed occupancy regularly exceeding 95%.

However, the CQC found "areas of good practice" across both services, including in managing mental health risk and safeguarding.

It said staff were described as "kind and caring", whilst working under significant pressure.

Ms Holmes added: "As with other trusts, our urgent and emergency care services have faced very high levels of attendances throughout the year."

She said a new urgent and emergency care facility was close to being completed.

"Our staff continue to work extremely hard to provide quality care for our patients and we have plans in place to ensure our staff feel supported as we head into a busy winter period," she added.