15 February 2012
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published a report into an unannounced inspection of the Accident and Emergency Department at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary.
This inspection resulted in CQC serving a warning notice on University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust in relation to staffing in the department.
While inspectors who visited the Royal Lancaster Infirmary on 21 December 2011 found that emergency care was being delivered according to clinical guidelines, they also noted:
- a shortage of staff during busy periods
- problems with staff training
- limited coordination in planning elective bed management within the hospital, which was affecting the working of the emergency department and the flow of patients through the care pathway.
Even though the department was relatively quiet on the night we inspected, CQC’s inspectors found that staffing levels did not always meet the needs of people using the department when there were high demands. This could have an adverse impact on the level of monitoring for less urgent cases or patients awaiting transfer to an appropriate ward. Inspectors also looked at staffing records for the whole of December.
One of the people using services at A&E told the inspectors that they had also been there the previous night, when it had been “really busy” and that the patients “had been lined up down the corridor and people were waiting”.
A member of staff told the inspectors that “often staffing is at crisis level”; another member of staff said “staffing levels are dangerous”. People told us that staff had raised concerns about the staffing levels and the safety of people due to staff shortages at times but nothing has been done about this.
Ambulance crews also confirmed that the previous week they had been ‘stacked’ – meaning ambulance crews were waiting with patients.
Inspectors found that a lack of bed capacity in the hospital was having an adverse impact on the emergency department. On the night of the inspection there were no surgical beds on the surgical admissions unit, but there were people waiting for beds leading to the potential for people to be kept waiting in A&E, blocking the department.
Inspectors also checked on staff training. They did not see evidence in the department that staff had received appropriate training for medical equipment – a training log should be kept with each piece of equipment. Staff told us that there was very little time for equipment training.
Debbie Westhead, CQC regional lead for the North West, said: "This inspection raised real concerns about staffing levels – staff themselves told our inspectors that these were 'at crisis level'. As a result of this inspection and other information, we served a warning notice on the trust. This report highlights the other areas where the trust needs to make rapid improvements.
"We were concerned at the blockages caused by the trust’s failure to plan effectively for admissions. This has knock-on effects in A&E and could put people at risk of poor care.
"It is important that staff training is up to date and that staff training needs are identified and met. To ensure the safety of people using the department, the trust needs to make sure it has the proper systems in place support staff.
"The trust must tell us how it how it will make sure it complies with the essential standards. We will check on progress."
Notes to editors
For further information please contact the CQC press office on 0207 448 9401 or out of hours on 07917 232 143.
The report can be found on the Royal Lancaster Infirmary page of our website.
The inspection of the Accident & Emergency department found the trust to be non compliant with
- Outcome 13, which says there should be enough members of staff to keep people safe and meet their health and welfare needs
- Outcome 14, which says staff should be properly trained and supervised, and have the chance to develop and improve their skills
The trust was found to be compliant with
- Outcome 1, respecting and involving people who use services
- Outcome 4, which says people should get safe and appropriate care that meets their needs and supports their rights (although we had minor concerns with this outcome and said the trust needed to make improvements).
CQC’s investigation
A CQC investigation focussing on the emergency care pathway is looking in-depth at the care patients receive when they arrive at the hospital for emergency care, and what happens to them subsequently.
CQC’s warning notice
The warning notice finds that University Hospitals Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust is in breach of Regulation 22 which states, in relation to staffing: "In order to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of service users, the registered person must take appropriate steps to ensure that, at all times, there are sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, skilled and experienced persons employed for the purposes of carrying out the regulated activity."
A deadline of 16 March has been given for improvement. If the deadline is not met, CQC has a range of enforcement powers which include restricting the services that a provider can offer, or, in the most serious cases, suspending or cancelling a service. CQC can also issue financial penalty notices and cautions or prosecute the provider for failing to meet essential standards. Any regulatory decision that CQC takes is open to challenge by a registered person through a variety of internal and external appeal processes.
Find out more
You can read more about our checks on standards at Royal Lancaster Infirmary or University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay.