Clinicians warn of ‘serious’ safety risk at crowded teaching hospital

Staff at a teaching hospital which has struggled with emergency care pressure this winter have warned that patient safety is being compromised as crowding is becoming “normalised”.

A letter sent by a group of clinical staff at Cambridge University Hospitals Foundation Trust to the trust board calls for immediate action to tackle concerns.

It says: “The normalisation of crowding, the lack of effective flow management and the lack of effective escalation policies and procedures are resulting in patient safety, dignity and comfort being repeatedly and seriously compromised.”

Details of the letter were shared with HSJ but it is unclear how many and which staff it is signed by.

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Source: HSJ, 23 December 2020