Leicester hospital 'accepts' need for improvement

Concerns at Leicester Royal Infirmary centred around ambulance handover times at accident and emergency

Leicester Royal Infirmary has said it "completely accepts" it needs to improve following an inspection.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said it has to make immediate changes following concerns about staffing in accident and emergency, clinical protocols and patient transfer times.

It wants all patients to be assessed within 15 minutes of entering A&E.

Hospital bosses will also have to report back to the CQC every week on the areas of concern identified.

The unannounced visit in November was called following concerns about the time it was taking to handover patients from ambulances.

The CQC will publish its full report later this year but the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust said the main rulings are:

• All patients arriving at A&E have to be assessed within 15 minutes

• There must be enough staff available with the appropriate skills

• Managers have to report each week to the CQC on staff levels and how many patients were not assessed within 15 minutes and why

In its last full inspection report in March 2014, the watchdog ruled the hospital "requires improvement".

The Care Quality Commission will publish its full report into Leicester Royal Infirmary later this year.

Andrew Furlong, acting trust medical director, said the watchdog had stressed that "staff were trying to do their very best in difficult circumstances" and that the visit came during an internal major incident because of "relentless demand".

But he added: "The CQC is absolutely justified in requiring us to assure them that we take our duty of care to our patients seriously.

"They have told us that they are placing 'conditions' on some of the 'regulated activities'.

The trust is currently building a new £43m Emergency Floor in order to help see more patients.