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Colchester Hospital declares 'major incident' | Colchester Hospital declares 'major incident' |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Colchester Hospital has declared a "major incident" following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). | Colchester Hospital has declared a "major incident" following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). |
The hospital trust said the major incident is likely to last a week, and asked patients to visit Accident & Emergency only if they have a "serious or life-threatening condition". | The hospital trust said the major incident is likely to last a week, and asked patients to visit Accident & Emergency only if they have a "serious or life-threatening condition". |
The CQC raised "safeguarding concerns" following an inspection on Wednesday. | The CQC raised "safeguarding concerns" following an inspection on Wednesday. |
The watchdog found staff struggling to cope with "unprecedented demand". | The watchdog found staff struggling to cope with "unprecedented demand". |
'Command and control' | 'Command and control' |
The hospital's interim chief executive Dr Lucy Moore said the focus was on "discharging patients." | The hospital's interim chief executive Dr Lucy Moore said the focus was on "discharging patients." |
She told the BBC: "By declaring a major incident and running a sort of command and control process, we ask all our staff to prioritise that." | She told the BBC: "By declaring a major incident and running a sort of command and control process, we ask all our staff to prioritise that." |
Dr Moore added that by "diverting resources away from things that can wait", staff could "treat as a priority the discharge of patients". | Dr Moore added that by "diverting resources away from things that can wait", staff could "treat as a priority the discharge of patients". |
In July the hospital was given an overall rating of "requires improvement". | In July the hospital was given an overall rating of "requires improvement". |
The CQC said its latest report on the hospital was due and said further inspections at the trust will be carried out. | |
Wednesday's inspection focussed on the hospital's accident and emergency department and emergency assessment unit. | Wednesday's inspection focussed on the hospital's accident and emergency department and emergency assessment unit. |
News of the hospital's problems came on the day the government announced an extra £300m would go towards helping the NHS cope during the winter months by boosting staff numbers and services, particularly at weekends. | |
But Dr Mark Porter, of the British Medical Association, described the extra funding as a "sticking plaster" designed to mask "the fact that a funding gap of £30bn is opening up in the NHS". |