Hospital told to urgently improve waiting times

The hospital was reassessed after "information of concern" was reported, the Care Quality Commission said

Urgent and emergency services at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital require improvement, inspectors said.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected after they said they received "information of concern" around long A&E waiting times.

They said they found people waiting too long for care and treatment and staff were caring for people in the back of ambulances or in corridors while waiting for cubicles.

Sarah Shingler, chief nursing officer for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, apologised and said they were working to cut waiting times and improve ambulance handovers.

One person told inspectors they were left in pain for 13 hours in a waiting room.

Others said they spent long periods of time on trolleys in corridors as they waited to be taken elsewhere in the hospital, the CQC's report said.

"It was also worrying that a disabled person had spent 16 hours in a wheelchair as there was no bed available for them," they added.

Ms Shingler said the trust was increasing the use of its same day emergency care services, which she claimed would free up more beds for patients.

An additional 25-bed "winter ward" would be created at the hospital, she added.

'Genuine commitment to improve'

As well as long wait times, inspectors found pain relief was not given to people in a good time and adjustments were not always made for people with learning difficulties.

The trust was working with other healthcare groups in the county to tackle the issues, the inspectors added.

"We saw a genuine commitment to improve the standard of care people were receiving," their report said.

They did praise the trust's "home for lunch" scheme, which aims to have patients leave the hospital earlier in the day.

The trust was told to rapidly improve waiting times and the CQC would keep checking on them and their progress, inspectors added.

The overall rating for Worcestershire Royal Hospital and Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust was unaffected after the inspection and remained "requires improvement".