Weston General Hospital trainee conditions criticised by watchdog

Weston General Hospital in Somerset is under pressure due to coronavirus patients

Health officials have removed 10 junior doctor posts from a hospital after inspectors said working conditions for trainees was "unacceptable."

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said staff at Weston General Hospital felt senior managers were not "visible, supportive or approachable".

Health Education England said junior staff "frequently" lacked support.

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust said it "fully accepted" the findings.

Inspectors said reduced staffing levels due to coronavirus had impacted on patient care and increased the number of safety incidents.

'Without adequate supervision'

But they found staff were caring and compassionate, focused on patients' needs, used PPE well, kept records up to date and knew how to protect patients from abuse.

Last May the hospital closed to new patients for three weeks for a deep clean after a Covid outbreak. An investigation found 31 patients died after catching the virus at the hospital.

Health Education England added: "Junior medical staff [are] frequently left without adequate supervision and support on understaffed wards.

"These issues have waxed and waned for too long."

The CQC's head of hospital inspections Amanda Williams said: "It was clear that the leadership team needs to make a number of sustainable improvements in order to ensure that the service operates effectively."

The trust now must send the CQC an action plan, outlining steps it will take to address concerns and possible improvements.

Mike Bell, North Somerset Council's executive member for health and adult social care, called on the trust to "address historic weaknesses", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

'Significant progress'

Deirdre Fowler, chief nurse at the hospital trust, said it welcomed the report.

She said the hospital had faced challenges, "particularly around nurse and medical staffing...for many years".

"We were actively seeking to address these issues in planning for our merger just over 12 months ago, which happened at the start of the global Covid-19 pandemic.

"Nevertheless, we have already made significant progress with work to address these challenges either completed or underway."

Sixty nurses will start in the next six months and the trust is looking to recruit more doctors.