Inspectors deliver latest verdict on Shropshire's A&Es

Inspectors have delivered their latest verdict on the county’s hospitals - and their A&E departments.

The Care Quality Commission carried out inspections at Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) In Telford, and Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, both managed by Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) in March this year.

The trust has an overall rating of ‘requires improvement’.

The inspection did find improvements in emergency care at PRH which have resulted in it being upgraded from ‘inadequate’ to ‘requires improvement’.

RSH’s emergency care remains as ‘requires improvement’ following the inspection, but medical care at the Shrewsbury hospital has been upgraded to ‘good’.

Jo Williams, Group Chief Executive for SaTH, welcomed the findings and said they were part of the efforts to improve the hospitals.

The CQC inspection, which was unannounced, did uncover a number of issues in A&E care.

It said: “At Princess Royal Hospital in urgent and emergency care, inspectors identified three breaches of regulation related to long delays, premises and environment.

“They also identified two continued breaches of regulation in medical care related to mandatory training and inconsistent risk assessment completion, and two new breaches related to stroke pathway performance and staffing.

“At Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, inspectors identified two breaches of regulation in urgent and emergency care related to safe care and treatment and staffing.

“In medical care, they identified three breaches of regulation related to failing to provide timely treatment, infection prevention and control, and management of hazardous substances.”

The CQC said it had told the trust to submit a plan showing what action it is taking to make immediate improvements in response to the concerns.

Issues found by the CQC included that corridor care was frequently used at PRH and there was not enough space for the patients attending.

The inspectors said that some people were waiting “far too long”, with some spending more than 12 hours in chairs or trolleys.

At RSH the department did not always have enough staff, and workers told inspectors this left them unable to carry out basic safety checks.

The findings also concluded that people were not consistently assessed quickly enough, risking delays in identifying people whose conditions were serious or deteriorating.

But the CQC said the hospital worked with a local community trust to reduce avoidable admissions through an integrated front door team, helping people access care closer to home instead.

Carolyn Jenkinson the CQC’s deputy director of hospitals in the West Midlands, said: “When we visited Princess Royal Hospital, we found improvements in leadership, with staff feeling supported and able to speak up. The culture around safety and learning was strong in both services, and we saw real commitment from teams to improve, which is a good foundation to build on. People said staff were kind, friendly and responsive, and we saw staff treating people with dignity and compassion throughout our time there.

“However, there were still areas of concern that leaders needed to address. In urgent and emergency care, people were sometimes waiting far too long. Some spent more than 12 hours in chairs or on trolleys, and we saw people waiting in areas not designed for longer stays. We know staff were doing their best in difficult circumstances and faced high levels of demand, but people deserve timely, appropriate care.

“At Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, we heard from people and their relatives that staff treated them with compassion and kindness, kept them informed, and supported them through some difficult moments.

“In the hospital’s urgent and emergency care services, there was a good safety culture and staff reported incidents confidently, and the department had implemented initiatives to improve flow and support hospital discharges. However, some longstanding concerns hadn’t been fully resolved. We found people who had been in the department for hours without an ID wristband, which is essential for ensuring people get the right medicines and treatment. There also wasn’t consistent clinical management of the waiting room, which we had previously raised as an issue.

“Our report highlights where improvements are needed and the positive areas leaders now need to build on. We’ll continue to monitor the services and look forward to seeing their progress.”

Mrs Williams accepted people are facing unacceptable waiting times, but said improvements are being made.

She said: “Today’s reports reflect another important step forward in our improvement journey. The CQC has recognised the new services and improvements we have made since 2024; however, we do not underestimate the work still to do. Our patients continue to face unacceptable waiting times, and we are committed to accelerating our progress through investing in new services and more modern tools to enable colleagues to deliver the best care.

“I am proud the CQC has recognised the care and compassion of our colleagues. We will keep moving forwards to ensure that everyone who receives care, visits or works across our services are consistently treated with kindness and respect and experiences the highest standards of care.”

John Jones, SaTH’s group chief medical officer, said: “I am proud of the progress our colleagues are making and pleased the CQC have recognised the care, compassion and innovation shown by our colleagues. We have areas of excellent care but also recognise that the sustained pressures our colleagues are working in, is contributing to inconsistencies in care and experience for our patients.

“We will be reflecting on these reports and are already working on improvements that will continue to accelerate our progress, as we seek to consistently deliver the safest and kindest care for all the communities we serve.”