Royal Stoke Hospital: 'Significant concerns' over A&E care

In July 2019 the trust which runs Royal Stoke University Hospital was told it must provide weekly updates to the CQC

A hospital trust has been told it must improve after inspectors raised "significant concerns" about its emergency care.

University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) was rated "requires improvement" following an inspection over the summer.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said it was not assured emergency patients could be managed safely.

The trust said it had made progress in the months since the inspection.

Following concerns identified during the visit between June to August 2019, the CQC ordered managers to submit weekly updates.

CQC Chief Inspector Ted Baker called on the trust, which runs the Royal Stoke University Hospital and Stafford's County Hospital, to make changes so "people receive the care they should be able to expect".

He highlighted "significant concerns" regarding the treatment of patients in the Royal Stoke A&E unit, and said at busy periods inspectors were "not assured that there were enough staff available to manage patients safely in the corridor".

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It made a number of recommendations including ensuring that patients' privacy is maintained during emergency care; bringing all staff up to date with mandatory training and better monitoring of patients.

However the CQC also found "examples of outstanding practice" and praised its children's and young people's services.

UHNM Chief Executive Tracy Bullock said she was glad some positive practices had been recognised and added the trust had made "significant improvements" since the inspection.

She said an additional 27 nurses and 15 doctors had been recruited to the emergency department which had also improved its triage process.