Russells Hall Hospital must report weekly to regulator

A&E at Russells Hall Hospital has been criticised in successive inspections

A hospital A&E at the centre of an investigation into patient deaths must provide weekly updates on its progress to the health regulator.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has ordered the move after an inspection of Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley.

It said an inspection found some staff at the hospital "did not understand sepsis" and patients faced long waits for care.

The trust which runs the hospital said patient safety is its first priority.

An independent inquiry was ordered into the hospital after concerns were raised over the deaths of 54 patients in a six-month period.

Inspectors visited the trust on 8 and 9 August to view its urgent and emergency care services.

The hospital has been told to make four improvements as a result of the inspection, including better recording of care

Following the inspection, the CQC has placed an "urgent condition" on the trust's registration.

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A spokesperson said the order to make weekly A&E reports was not unprecedented, but is done "to drive through improvements, especially in cases where what we find is really concerning".

Inspectors found:

• Doctors were seen indicating sepsis pathways were not needed when patients "had clear signs of sepsis"

• A large number of A&E patients were placed into a "cannot wait" category, but many were then placed in the waiting room

• A three-year-old with temperature of 40C and hallucinations waited two hours to be seen

• A baby involved in a fire waited nearly two hours to be seen

However, the CQC said it saw some improvements, including the ambulance triage area.

Prof Ted Baker, Chief Inspector of Hospitals, said: "We are monitoring the trust extremely closely and continue to work with NHS Improvement to ensure patient safety improves."

Chief executive Diane Wake, said: "We are absolutely determined to make our emergency department the best it can be, and ensure our patients are safe."