Councilors want to question hospital bosses about A&E chaos – Brighton and Hove News

Two councilors leading health and social care have raised concerns from residents about the accident and emergency (A&E) service at the Royal Sussex County Hospital.

Labor MP Bruno de Oliveira, chair of Brighton and Hove City Council’s health and wellbeing committee, and adult social care lead Tristram Baden, will meet next Wednesday (10 April) A letter has been sent to the City Council’s Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee. .

At the meeting, MPs are expected to consider the recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) report following an inspection of core surgical and medical services at the Royal Sussex Hospital in Eastern Road, Brighton.

CQC inspectors said that while the care provided by staff was excellent, the service needed improvement in all other respects.

De Oliveria and Baden want the committee to ask the committee about the A&E issue when the hospital trust’s chief executive, George Findlay, answers questions about the inspection.

Their letter read as follows: “Several people have raised concerns with us about conditions in A&E. These include general overcrowding and a lack of safe space for frail or vulnerable patients in particular.

“While side hallways are intended to be used as quiet spaces, we understand that in practice they are frequently used to manage disruptive patients. It means quiet spaces are virtually non-existent for vulnerable patients.

“We’ve also heard that A&E is so noisy and chaotic that patients waiting for an initial assessment can’t hear their name called and are therefore not seen. .

“We recognize that[Royal Sussex]is a very high-pressure environment. We also have medium-term plans for the trust to reorganize its emergency department to provide a better environment for patients and staff. I also recognize that.

“However, in the short term we are aware that A&E is poorly managed and seriously ill patients may be deterred from seeking urgent help due to concerns about safety within the hospital. is very concerned.”

The CQC last inspected A&E in 2022, when the department was downgraded from ‘good’ to ‘requires improvement’.

Royal Sussex is run by University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, and Dr Findlay became chief executive in June 2022.

The council’s Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee is scheduled to meet at Hove Town Hall next Wednesday (April 10) at 4pm. The meeting will be webcast on the city council’s website.