INSPECTORS have blasted Southmead Hospital’s accident and emergency department, saying it is “not safe enough” at times and that patients “are waiting too long” for treatment.

Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors issued a warning to the hospital at the end of last year following concerns about the quality of the A&E.

During a further unannounced inspection in May, inspectors found some improvements had been made, but still gave the A&E an ‘inadequate’ rating.

They said that patients arriving by ambulance who had to wait in corridors did not always receive a quick enough assessment of their needs.

At times the area was overcrowded, staffing levels had not increased to reflect predictable surges in activity and patients did not always receive pain relief fast enough, they added.

Chief inspector of hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards, said: “While I recognise that there have been some important changes at Southmead since our first inspection, it is clear that the requirements of the warning notice have not been fully met.

“Southmead Hospital provides a vital service to the people of Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset at all hours of the day and night. It is not acceptable that at times the emergency service is not safe enough and that people are waiting too long for pain relief or treatment.

“We will undertake a further unannounced inspection of the emergency zone to follow up on these issues in the near future. If those concerns still remain, we will consider further enforcement action.”

Andrea Young, chief executive of the North Bristol NHS Trust, said: “The inspection took place on an exceptionally busy day and patients were waiting unacceptable lengths of time for admission to the main wards and had to wait in areas that were not conducive to our staff being able to deliver high quality care.

“We had hoped to be in a much better place at the time of re-inspection and are extremely disappointed with this outcome.

“Despite changes being made, which were positively noted by the CQC in its report, some of the internal systems and actions to manage patient flow, which impact on the availability of beds, had not yet been completed by the time of the visit.”

“The trust is fully committed to working with the CQC and we will be providing them with regular updates to track progress. In addition they will be making a further unannounced visit to the emergency department in the near future.”