A&E at Peterborough City Hospital told to improve by CQC inspectors
An unannounced inspection of a hospital’s emergency department has given weight to patients’ concerns.
According to their report published on Wednesday (April 16), Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors dropped in on Peterborough City Hospital last summer and found some people waiting more than 12 hours for treatment.
They also found staff shortages were having a negative effect on young people’s care in the children’s emergency department.
The report added: “Staff shortages also meant the service didn't always identify people who attended the emergency department whose health was at risk of deterioration quickly enough.
“Only 54% of people arriving in the department underwent safety screening to receive proper monitoring while awaiting treatment and only 73% of eligible people were screened for sepsis.”
Inspectors were impressed by how well staff worked together, felt confident to raise concerns and helped to ensure incidents were appropriately investigated.
Patients told the inspectors they found staff “very caring and sympathetic”.
The report criticised the hospital for moving patients to wards in the middle of the night, which can disrupt sleep and slow recovery, and for moving single patients multiple times during their stay, which can negatively affect their continuity of care and lengthen stays.
Inspections were carried out unannounced over three days after patients had raised concerns about waiting times, quality of care, poor discharges, and management of patients with mental health conditions.
The new overall rating for Peterborough City Hospital emergency department was ‘requires improvement’.
A new CQC report was also issued on Wednesday relating to medical care, including older people's care, at Peterborough City Hospital following a summer inspection.
The hospital has 410 medical inpatient beds within 15 wards and units, and despite the needs for patients being cared for in corridors not always being met, and staffing levels not always being high enough, inspectors decided this aspect of the hospital should be rated ‘good’.
