Derriford Hospital told it must improve after critical CQC report

An inspection of the largest hospital in the South West has found further improvements to its emergency care and medical wards are needed.
Derriford Hospital in Plymouth has been told to improve its services following a report from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
CQC inspectors visited the hospital in September this year and have now ordered the hospital to improve the safety, responsiveness and management of its services.
However, service effectiveness was rated "good" in the report and the hospital received an outstanding rating for its care.
Inspectors acknowledged that the hospital is facing pressures, particularly due to the limited availability of social care beds and resources for caring in the community.
At the hospital's last comprehensive inspection it received an overall rating of 'requires improvement'.
A hospital spokesperson said: "We visited Derriford Hospital during a period of significant and sustained pressure on urgent and emergency care and medical services across the UK.
"The pressures at Derriford Hospital were largely due to limited availability of social care beds and packages of care in the community which has impacted on the number of medically fit patients able to be discharged into social care facilities.
"This impacted on flow throughout the hospital causing patients to experience long delays when waiting to be admitted into the emergency department and onto a medical ward, once a decision to admit had been made."
Low levels of staffing are highlighted in the report, which notes that "the service did not always have enough nursing and support staff to keep patients safe."
Recruitment is taking place but sickness absence was found to be placing the hospital under extra pressure.
The report states that the trust must carry out the following work:
The trust must review and improve its processes for monitoring the expiry dates of medicines. They must also ensure medicines are stored securely in all areas.
The trust must ensure risks to patients, staff and visitors are assessed and corridors and walkways are kept clear of equipment. They must do all that is reasonably practicable to mitigate such risks.
The trust must ensure there is always enough nursing and support staff to keep patients safe and they receive mandatory training including updates to meet the trust target.