Hospital bosses told to make 'rapid improvements'

Derriford Hospital is the largest hospital in the South West

The healthcare watchdog warned Derriford Hospital bosses to "make rapid and widespread improvements" to fix overcrowding in its emergency department, a new report has revealed.

Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said they made a surprise visit to the Plymouth hospital in March after reports of slow and poor quality care in the emergency department.

Their newly released report said University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust was issued with a warning notice to make urgent improvements to safety, access and overcrowding by 21 July.

Mark Hackett, interim chief executive of the trust, said many changes had been made since then but work still needed to be done.

Long waits

In the report, the hospital was rated "requires improvement" - the same rating it received in an inspection in 2021 which found it had a lack of care and beds.

Derriford Hospital is the largest hospital in the south-west of England and serves both Devon and Cornwall.

Catherine Campbell, CQC's deputy director of operations in the south, said inspectors found people were still experiencing long waits in ambulances and overcrowding in the emergency department waiting room.

"This included people experiencing long waits to be triaged, treated or discharged," she said.

"One person's relative was told there may be a 48-hour wait for their loved one to be admitted to hospital."

Ms Campbell added some patients reported being treated quickly and gave positive feedback about staff.

"This doesn't alter the fact that in October 2021, we highlighted the same problems to the trust's leadership and local stakeholders," she said.

"Continued focus is required on what the trust can do to improve the safety, quality and experience of care for people through the emergency department."

'Striving for better'

The trust said staff at the hospital had made "considerable improvements for patients arriving as emergencies" following the inspection.

Mr Hackett said "our staff are doing all they can to ensure the safety of patients at all times".

"We know there is still work to do but it is important to reflect the improvements we have made since the inspection, which are many," he said.

"We have made significant improvements since March, but we are striving for better and there is more to do."

Darryn Allcorn said the team have changed its models of care to improve patient outcomes

Darryn Allcorn, chief nurse and director of integrated clinical professions at the hospital, said the team had made some "radical changes".

He said the report "was very reflective of where we were as an organisation at that particular stage".

"Move forward eight months and we have made some really radical changes in terms of how we've seen improvements in care, in reduction in delays and then the wider challenges in terms of changing our models of care to improve our patient outcomes."