Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust (“the Trust”) are under scrutiny following a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary in June.
The documentary said that a reporter working as a trainee healthcare assistant saw patients waiting in Shrewsbury’s emergency department for up to 46 hours and undignified treatment of patients in corridors.
Channel 4 dispatches documentary
The documentary footage showed the emergency department at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.
It showed issues such as patients being cared for in corridors, specifically in the X-ray corridor linking the X-ray and emergency departments.
Patients were also seen waiting overnight in a “Fit to Sit” area due to a lack of trolleys, with one person in the area for 30 hours.
Action plan
Following the documentary, an action plan of changes has been drawn up by the hospital’s bosses, and a review of all areas of concerns highlighted by the documentary is to be carried out by the medical director and director of nursing.
The Trust will this week tell its board that there were a number of examples in the documentary where care “fell below acceptable standards.”
Immediate action has already been taken, according to the Trust, with an increase in healthcare assistant staff in the X-ray corridor when it was in use.
There is also now an action plan to improve the situation further, which is due to be updated weekly.
This plan includes a review of the availability of sinks for handwashing for staff managing patients in a corridor.
The plan said that language used by staff in the documentary gave the impression of an acceptance of poor standards and there was therefore a cultural concern. The Trust said an immediate individual and group discussion on use of language and expectations would be carried out.
There is also to be a daily increase of senior staff in departments.
Comment
Whilst we are all probably aware that there are continued and significant pressures on emergency departments across the country, seeing the reality highlighted by this documentary certainly shines a light on how bad things are.
It seems that the Trust has already begun the process of learning from the issues present in their hospitals and putting a plan in place, however, it is vital that this is more than just a plan and that action is seen immediately to improve care for patients.
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