King’s College Hospital has been rated as ‘requiring improvement’ in a report released by the health watchdog last week.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) visited King’s in April and found that the Emergency Department was overcrowded, the critical care service was short on beds, the maternity ward was sometimes understaffed and there was intermittent flooding of the dialysis unit and endoscopy suite.
The report also mentioned “outstanding practice” including trauma nurses, a youth worker drop in scheme operating in the Emergency Department and “pioneering work” being done by some of the hospital’s specialist services.
Roland Sinker, Acting Chief Executive at King’s, said: “The CQC’s report highlighted many areas of good practice across the Trust. However, the rating is not where King’s wants to be. We want and need to do better.
“We are pleased the CQC praised the compassionate care our staff provide to patients every day. It is also positive that the CQC singled out some of our specialist services for praise.
“Many of the issues the CQC has identified as requiring improvement are already known to us, and we have made significant progress since their inspection in April. However, we want to be providing high quality services to every patient that comes through our doors – and this is what everyone connected with the Trust is determined to provide.”
In August the News reported that King’s needed to find £86million of savings this financial year just to balance the books and that £8million was proposed to be shaved off the staff pay bill by March 2016.