Brighton NHS trust 'to go in special measures'

After its last inspection in June 2015, Brighton's A&E was rated as unsafe

A hospital trust already rated inadequate is about to be placed into special measures, the BBC understands.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is due to publish its latest findings on Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust on Wednesday.

But sources have told the BBC the CQC will recommend the trust goes into special measures.

Neither the trust or CQC would comment ahead of publication of the report on Wednesday.

The trust runs the Royal Sussex hospital in Brighton and the Princess Royal in Haywards Heath.

It means the leadership of the trust will be rated as inadequate and it is expected a number of other serious issues will be highlighted by inspectors.

The CQC will demand such issues are sorted out quickly.

After its last inspection in June 2015, Brighton's A&E was rated as unsafe.

The Royal Sussex is undergoing a £480m redevelopment

The trust has been consistently one of the worst performers in England on a number of key performance indicators.

In particular, it's A&E department has seen a consistent rise in the number of people coming through its doors.

The trust is also struggling financially with a potential deficit at the end of this financial year of more than £70m.

This will be another blow for staff, who were praised in the last CQC report for their care and commitment.

The trust is currently in the middle of a £480m redevelopment and has said changes have already been made to address concerns raised in previous inspections.