A SENIOR doctor at a Devon healthcare trust says a Channel 4 documentary which identified a crisis in a North Midlands’ emergency department does not reflect what happens at hospitals in Exeter and Barnstaple, writes Alison Stephenson.

The Dispatches programme looked at the challenges faced by the NHS at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital where a reporter filmed secretly while working in A&E for two months.

The documentary presented a disturbing account of a seemingly overwhelmed department, even in the summer months, with patients sleeping on chairs for up to two days because of a lack of beds.

Others were left lying on trolleys in corridors or reception areas, indicating a severe shortage of resources and space.

It claimed overcrowding had led to a decline in standards of care, with vital medical checks missed, patient notes misplaced and basic hygiene needs neglected, resulting in patients being left to wet themselves.

Experts on the programme said that while the scenes were “shocking” and “harrowing” they were not unique to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and occur in hospitals across England.

But speaking at a recent meeting of the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the RD&E and North Devon District Hospitals, chief medical officer and emergency physician Adrian Harris said he did not recognise this situation.

He said whilst there are still improvements to be made, patients waiting for two days in the emergency departments in Exeter and North Devon was “unheard of” and the majority were dealt with within four hours (99 per cent) , either being discharged, admitted or transferred to another hospital after that time.

He said the trust is a “beacon institution” for its four-hour rule, with people from other trusts visiting to see its example of good working practice.

He said over the last three winters, emergency departments in Devon hospitals had been under “enormous pressure”.

He continued: “We have had to take patients from other hospitals and there have been long waits and we had to treat patients in corridors, but I can give my absolute assurance that under those circumstances we can always provide satisfactory numbers of staff, that is crucial, and staff go above and beyond to care for patients in a dignified and respectful manner.”

He explained that the trust has invested £30 million into the emergency department at the RD&E: “It is, without doubt, the most fit-for-purpose department for hundreds of miles… That is not true in the North, there is work to be done in the North.”

He said that it was now rare that patients are left in corridors.

He added that they had “worked tirelessly” to get the right staffing numbers of nurses and doctors, and the hospitals’ culture is most important is getting things right.

“Our job is to provide the resource, and I am very confident we do, but the culture really matters to us too,” he said.