Nurse in hospital room with patient

Health watchdog issues formal warning to NHS Trust calling for immediate improvements

Tunbridge Wells’ new state-of-the-art hospital has come under fire by a health watchdog after patients suffering major injuries were left waiting in corridors due to a lack of beds.

During an unannounced inspection of the accident and emergency department by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) last month, three ambulance crews were seen waiting with patients, unable to transfer them into the major injury unit.

The shocking findings at the new £230 million hospital in Pembury – which opened in January last year – were revealed in a report released by the CQC this week.

The report found staffing levels and care and welfare of people to be insufficient in the A&E department – which opened its doors just five months ago.

CQC inspectors also stated that waiting times were subject to significant delays.

Two warning notices calling for immediate improvements have been issued to Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust stating that the Trust was in breach of two of the government’s essential standards for care and treatment.

Inspectors said they were concerned that the Trust was not taking appropriate steps to make sure people experienced safe and appropriate care that met their needs.

While clinical staffing problems in the minor injury unit were attributed to staff having been transferred to the major injury unit, inspectors found that unit to also be understaffed.

NHS workers told inspectors that while staffing levels were sufficient on an average day, they admitted struggling on busy days.

They also raised concerns that the skill mix was not always right and that staff were spread out across the department.

Deputy director of CQC in the south Ian Biggs said it was clear that patients visiting A&E at the hospital – hailed as one of the best in Europe – had to wait too long for attention.

“Providers have a duty to make sure that the care and treatment they deliver meets the essential standards,” he said.

“This warning sends a clear message that the issues at the Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury need to be addressed as a matter of priority.

“The Trust has accepted the findings of inspectors and have told CQC they are taking action to make the improvements required.

“Our inspectors will return in the near future to carry out another unannounced inspection.

“If we find that the trust is not making the required progress we will consider further use of our enforcement powers to protect the people who depend on this service.”

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust said it had made immediate changes to improve patient care which had helped the hospital respond faster to peaks in demand for A&E services.

Medical director Dr Paul Sigston said: “Our A&E is a safe and high quality department. The changes we have made are helping make it a swifter department for more of our patients when we are at our busiest.

“By working with the CQC, we have quickly improved both the way we identify potential peaks in patient demand, and respond to these by calling in additional doctors and nurses as necessary.”

The Trust admitted that although patients were medically supervised in A&E, some waited too long for different aspects of care to be completed before being discharged home or admitted into hospital.

Health bosses increased the number of doctors and nurses working in the department after it opened in September 2011 and following the inspection said they had focused on improving its escalation system for bringing in more medical staff to help cope with peaks in demand.

The Trust said more doctors and nurses were now automatically called in if the number of patients exceeded a particular level within a specific period of time and that patients were checked every two hours by a lead doctor and nurse to ensure care was progressing.

Dr Sigston said: “There are times when some patients will need to spend longer in A&E and that will continue to be the case for good clinical reasons.

“Some of our systems were not as robust as they are now, however, and we apologise to any of our patients who previously waited longer than absolutely necessary to complete all of their care.

“We are continually improving the care we provide to A&E patients, and patients who come to the new hospital can expect a high quality, safe and reliable service.”