Weston General Hospital A&E department rated inadequate

Posted on 20th December 2019

The CQC has rated the A&E department at Weston General Hospital as inadequate and has issued warnings regarding urgent and emergency care.

The hospital, which is managed by Weston Area Health NHS Trust, closes its A&E department between the hours of 10pm and 8am. This has been in place since April 2017, and campaign groups are concerned the report could lead to further reductions in service.

The CQC has cited a lack of support, supervision and training for staff in their report, as well as insufficient systems to monitor safety and risk.

Improvements have been made

However, the report did acknowledge the improvements that have been made since the last report including a change in senior staff and the existence of a positive attitude in senior staff. Quality measures are now being followed up on with mortality and morbidity reviews taking place regularly. A framework for nursing staff has been established to measure competency with a practice development nurse being appointed to ensure the training requirements are being met. National audits are being used to drive improvements within the hospital and clinical guidelines are being reviewed to ensure they are up to date.

Despite these improvements, the CQC found that junior doctors felt concerned about the level of support they receive, particularly during weekend shifts. Concerns were also raised about the skill levels of the nursing staff in this department, with no training plan.

Medical negligence claims

If you have received medical care from an NHS hospital and you have endured physical or mental negligence, you might be eligible to receive medical negligence compensation.

Blackwater Law have specialist medical negligence solicitors on hand to give you free initial advice about your experience and can help you understand if you have a valid claim. If you decide to proceed with making a claim, we take on all cases on a no win no fee basis.