News / Health
Bristol Royal Infirmary told to make improvements
The Care and Quality Commission (CQC) has told the Bristol Royal Infirmary to make improvements following an unannounced inspection. Although some areas of the unit were rated as ‘good.’
The Bristol Royal Infirmary, which is part of University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, received the inspection of urgent and emergency services in June after the CQC were given information of concern about some of the services being provided.
Following the inspection, the urgent and emergency service was re-rated as requires improvement overall, as were the ratings for safe and responsive.
is needed now More than ever
The categories which look at whether the emergency service is effective and well-led were re-rated as good. This inspection didn’t rate how caring the service was which remains as good.
Bristol Royal Infirmary’s emergency department
Catherine Campbell, CQC deputy director of operations in the south, said: “During our inspection of Bristol Royal Infirmary, we found an emergency department which was often understaffed, especially at weekends, which led to delays for people needing care and treatment.
“Leaders didn’t monitor the quality of staff handovers from the emergency department to the wards. This meant there were missed opportunities for learning and to improve the future care of people being transferred on to inpatient wards.
“The trust also needs to improve how they are risk assessing and managing people who potentially have sepsis. A recent audit showed staff didn’t always identify and manage sepsis using the trust’s guidelines, which put people at risk.
“However, leaders had a strong awareness of the risks of managing the flow of people through the department and surges in demand. Staff also worked well together to deliver good care and worked with leaders collaboratively to improve the service.
“Ambulance handover times had improved, and staff worked together to manage the risks of overcrowding in the department.
“The trust leadership know what they must do to improve, and we will continue to monitor them to make sure people are safe whilst this is happening, as well as reinspecting to check on their progress.”
The ratings for Bristol Royal Infirmary are unaffected by the results of this inspection, and remain rated as good overall, as does the overall rating for University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust.
All photos: Seun Matiluko
Read next:
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
