Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital has been named as one of 17 NHS hospitals that do not operate with safe levels of staff.
A report by the Daily Telegraph reveals how the Sibsey Road hospital is among those that has been issued with a warning by the Care Quality Commission after its latest inspection.
The report states it did not have enough staff ‘to keep people safe and meet their health and welfare needs’. It said all 17 have been inspected since November.
The story has made national headlines today and comes ahead of a report into the Stafford Hospital scandal, which is due to be published in the coming weeks.
The Labour Party, which released the information, blames the government’s ‘toxic medicine’ of spending cuts and reorganisation on the NHS.
Speaking this morning on the BBC’s flagship political programme, the Andrew Marr Show, Labour leader Ed Miliband said it was a ‘shocking set of findings’.
He told stand-in presenter James Lansdale: “People will be deeply concerned about what they have seen and will want action to be taken.”
The Telegraph reports that Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, said there was ‘no excuse’ for hospitals not providing adequate staff and he expects ‘swift action’ to be taken by those named as failing such as the Pilgrim.
Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary, told the paper: “The public has a right to know if their local hospital is taking risks with staffing levels.”
Last year, then-health minister Andrew Lansley told The Standard that the Pilgrim Hospital was on the road to recovery after suffering a damning verdict from the CQC the previous year, where major concerns were raised.
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