North Devon District Hospital staff shortages 'put patients at risk'

A hospital in Devon has been told it "requires improvement" as patient safety has been put at risk by staff shortages.

The North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple was inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in July 2021 following concerns about its staffing levels.

The CQC found the hospital’s medical care services were limited because there were not enough members of medical or nursing staff available.

But staff were praised for treating patients with compassion and kindness.

The report added that care was not always provided "in a timely manner" and the CQC’s head of hospital inspection, Cath Campbell, believes the situation is concerning.

She said: "When we inspected the medical care services at North Devon District Hospital, we found a high number of vacancies with a reliance on agency staff, and not addressing issues around the availability and responsiveness of medical staff for deteriorating patients. This put patients at risk of harm.

"Although nursing staff were quick to identify and act when they spotted patients who were at risk of deteriorating, medical staff did not always attend to these patients quickly."

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Source: ITV News, 3 November 2021