"It's not care, its chaos": Exhausted medic lifts lid on DRI A&E after urgent inspection

Yesterday, it was revealed that watchdogs have carried out an unannounced, snap inspection at the crisis-hit Armthorpe Road hopsital following “concerns about risks to people.”

The Care Quality Commission says it has inspected DRI’s urgent and emergency services department in a two day visit this week, with a report expected to follow in the coming weeks.

Bosses at Doncaster Bassetlaw and Hospital NHS Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust say they welcome the inspection and take all concerns seriously and said that the hospital’s emergency department was “under signifcant pressure” due to flu cases and seasonal illnesses.

In a lengthy statement, one member of A&E staff who did want to be identified, said: "The situation is nothing short of a disaster.

"Staff are exhausted, patients are suffering, and the conditions are unsafe, degrading, and completely unacceptable.

"Those who should be leading and protecting the department seem nowhere to be seen.

"Staffing levels are dangerously low, leaving teams unable to provide even the most basic care.

"Patients are crammed into every available space including bays, corridors, and in the middle of the department because every cubicle is full. Hallways are blocked, trolleys clutter the floor, and equipment can barely get through. This is not care. It is chaos.

"All teams are overwhelmed.

"The ambulance bay is overflowing, with double the amount of patients that it should hold and at one point a trolley blocked a fire door near creating a terrifying safety hazard.

"The combination of overcrowding and insufficient staff leaves no margin for error, no room for emergencies, and no ability to protect patients.

"Newly qualified nurses are being brought into this environment and expected to simply get on with it, thrown into extreme pressure with limited support because there are not enough experienced staff available to guide them. This is unfair on them and unsafe for the patients they are desperately trying to care for.

"Worse still, some patients are left in urine and faeces for hours because there is no space or staff to wash or change them.

"Overflow patients are exposed to the entire department during personal care and other intimate procedures, with no curtains or privacy.

"This is not a question of comfort – it is a violation of basic dignity. How would you feel if it were your elderly parents lying for hours, humiliated and soiled, while staff struggle to meet impossible demands?

"Staff are burned out, stressed, and in tears. Many of us work twelve hour shifts and often go without our allocated breaks.

"We are not approaching breaking point. We have already passed it. We are broken.

"Morale has collapsed, and the pressure we face leaves us terrified that if this continues, lives will be put at serious risk.

"Many staff have also raised deeply worrying concerns about the lengths management appear willing to go to when outside bodies visit.

"During the recent unannounced CQC inspection, several agency workers reported being asked to wear A&E scrubs so they would look like permanent staff working in A&E.

"Whether intended or not, this created the impression of a fully staffed department that did not reflect the reality we face every day. If this is what it takes to create the appearance of safety and stability during an inspection, then something is seriously wrong.

“Where are the senior managers whose job it is to ensure safety, dignity, and proper care? How can anyone justify leaving staff and patients in these conditions?

“Staff are stretched far beyond their limits. Compassion and dedication alone cannot overcome the systemic failures in staffing, space, and leadership.

"Patients deserve safe and dignified care. Staff deserve proper support and working conditions.

"Doncaster A&E is in crisis. Immediate action and accountability are essential. Until this changes, staff are left exhausted, patients are left vulnerable, and the department continues to sit on the edge of disaster.”

The member of staff also claims that ambulance crews are also having to abandon patients because of overcrowding in the department.

They added: “Previously, ambulances had to queue outside with their patients because there was simply no room inside the department.

"Now, under the updated process, ambulance crews are required to hand their patients over after forty five minutes, no matter what the situation is inside A&E.

"This means patients are being left in the ambulance bay even when there is nowhere safe for them to go.

"They are placed on trolleys in an area that was originally designed to hold no more than five. Staff have recently found more than twenty patients crowded into this space, with no dedicated staff to monitor them, no privacy, and no safe way to provide timely care.”

Karen Jessop, Chief Nurse at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals, said: “We encourage any patient or colleague with concerns to raise these directly with us - patients through the team caring for them or via our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), and colleagues through their line manager or our established reporting routes.

"We take all concerns seriously and review them so we can understand what has happened and make improvements where needed.

“Emergency departments nationally are under significant pressure due to flu and other seasonal illnesses.

"Underlining this point, since Monday, our Emergency Department at Doncaster Royal Infirmary has seen more than 1,000 patients, and colleagues are working extremely hard in very challenging circumstances.

“Despite this, the quality and safety of care remain our highest priority. We continue to monitor demand, support our teams and maintain safe patient flow. We are grateful to our dedicated colleagues for everything they do.”

The Trust says it is encouraging local people to use services appropriately - NHS111 online, community pharmacies, GPs and urgent treatment centres and leaving A&E to those who need life saving care.

Bosses say staff have been moved in to support the department but denied that agency nurses had been used with senior leaders working in the department as part of an “all hands on deck” approach.

The snap inspection comes just days after it was revealed that whistleblowing DRI doctor Tim Noble has been suspended for more than a year after raising concerns about bullying and harrassment – with other staff coming forward to talk of a “toxic” culture at the hospital.

It also comes just weeks after a damning report said children had suffered harm as a result of the state of NHS audiology services in Doncaster.

Yesterday, a CQC spokesperson, said: “Following concerns received about risks to people, CQC carried out an inspection of urgent and emergency services at Doncaster Royal Infirmary, part of Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, on 8 and 9 December.

“The findings from that inspection will be published in a report on CQC’s website when it’s been through the usual quality assurance processes.

“CQC’s priority, at all times, is the health and wellbeing of people using health and social care services, and all information we receive informs our monitoring of services and future inspections.

“We’d encourage anyone who has concerns about a health and social care service to let us know.

"This can be done by emailing [email protected] or via our customer service centre on 03000 616161.”

The Care Quality Commission is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care and was established in 2009 to regulate and inspect health and social care providers in England.

Karen Jessop, Chief Nurse at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals, said: "Inspections are part and parcel of running a safe hospital, and we welcome all visits - unannounced or otherwise - from our regulators."