Overcrowded hospital A&E risked safety - CQC

A hospital's emergency department was "not functioning effectively" due to significant overcrowding, an inspection found.

The healthcare watchdog has told Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral to improve its urgent and emergency services, after the unannounced visit in March.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said it had scheduled the inspection after "information of concern" was reported to it.

Wirral University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Arrowe Park, said it had already begun addressing some of the issues identified by inspectors.

The CQC said staff had reported low morale "due to a stressful working environment", although it said the trust had plans in place to increase staff numbers.

Karen Knapton from the CQC said: "Staff told us overcrowding meant they weren’t functioning as an effective emergency department and people were being cared for in areas not designated for care and treatment.

"Leaders were also struggling to mitigate the risks of staff shortages due to a high rate of sickness absence."

The CQC said overcrowding meant the dignity and privacy of patients was "being compromised".

Inspectors said: "We saw staff taking bloods from someone in the middle of a waiting room and privacy screens weren’t always used around people who were on trolleys in the corridors.

"In addition, confidential conversations between staff and people receiving treatment, as well as staff handovers, sometimes occurred where other people could overhear."

Inspectors also said some patients in the waiting room were not being checked for signs of deterioration after being triaged.

However, they praised senior staff for being visible and helping out and said patients spoke positively of staff when asked.

The CQC also said the service had a number of projects already under way to mitigate the impact of overcrowding.

Dr Nikki Stevenson from the trust said that the hospital had been rated good for being "effective", "caring" and "well-led" - despite its overall rating of "requires improvement".

She said the emergency department, like many other trusts, faced "very high levels of attendance".

"The CQC inspection report is critical of the practice of providing care to patients in the corridor of the hospital," she said.

"This is an issue of national significance not isolated to our department and is as a result of a number of factors including our commitment to release ambulance crews back into the community to attend to those in need, unplanned care demand and bed occupancy."

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