Portsmouth hospital patients still waiting 'too long' for A&E care

The inspection found some patients still had to wait too long for their initial assessment on arrival in the emergency department

A hospital emergency department is still leaving patients waiting too long for treatment, inspectors found.

Patients at the Queen Alexandra Hospital were found waiting in corridors or in ambulances outside A&E, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said.

The watchdog noted improvements in 2017, but said issues were continuing which it would continue to monitor.

The hospital said the report was a "fair and honest reflection of where we are after one year".

The CQC has kept the unit's rating as "requires improvement".

The watchdog said: "Inspectors found that some patients were waiting too long for treatment.

"There were instances of poor patient flow throughout the department meant which patients were still waiting in corridors or ambulances outside the emergency department because of the congestion."

The hospital trust said it was "extremely proud" that some of services were recognised in the inspection as being excellent

The inspection in April and May noted however, that some parts of the hospital were well led and found the care of children and young people to be outstanding.

Mark Cubbon, chief executive of Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "We entirely accept the findings.

"None of us want a situation where any of our services are considered inadequate, and our focus must now be on addressing the outstanding areas of concern and continuing to build on the steady progress already made."

The CQC said it would continue to monitor the trust closely.