Urgent improvements have been called for at one NHS trust, which is failing to meet national cleanliness and infection control guidelines.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has issued three formal warnings to Barts Health NHS Trust following unannounced inspections in May and June.
According to the CQC, the hospital also does not meet regulations for safe, suitable equipment or support to staff.
Urgent improvements have been called for at one NHS trust, which is failing to meet national cleanliness and infection control guidelines.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has issued three formal warnings to Barts Health NHS Trust following unannounced inspections in May and June.
According to the CQC, the hospital also does not meet regulations for safe, suitable equipment or support to staff.
Whipps Cross failed to meet 10 out of the 16 national standards of quality and safety when inspectors visited the A&E, elderly, outpatients, maternity and surgery departments over four days.
Matthew Trainer, Regional Director of CQC in London, said: ““We found that, in places, the hospital was unsafe and dirty, and that staff didn’t always show patients the compassion that people deserve. Patients were not receiving the care and support they should have been able to expect – and in some cases, this was putting them at risk of harm.
“Until now, there has been a failure to deal with these issues and urgent action must now be taken by the trust. Patients are entitled to be treated in services which are safe, effective, caring, well run, and responsive to their needs. The people of east London deserve better from their local hospital.”
Just 5% of patients visiting A&E were seen within four hours, and between January and March 2013 there were 31 occasions where a patient had to wait more than an hour to be handed over from an ambulance.
Some patients waiting in A&E for long periods of time were not offered adequate food and drink.
Inspectors reported that there were not enough staff on elderly wards to deliver appropriate care and treatment, with women on the post natal ward receiving care which was not considerate, supporting or compassionate.
The maternity wards had overfilled bins and stained floors, walls and curtains.
Matthew Trainer said: “Two weeks ago Sir Mike Richards, CQC’s new Chief Inspector of Hospitals, identified Barts Health NHS Trust as one of the first high risk trusts to be looked at under radical changes to the way hospitals in England are inspected.
“The problems we’ve identified today at Whipps Cross University Hospital suggest that that this wider review of how the trust functions is much needed.
