A Merseyside hospital has responded after staff members spoke out about feeling 'bullied, anxious, overworked and helpless.'
The ECHO was contacted by a small group of staff working within the Emergency Department (ED) at Arrowe Park Hospital, who said they have been raising concerns for some time with hospital bosses.
The group, which is understood to only represent a handful of the 150-strong ED team, said they have raised issues of patient safety, quality of care and staff health and well-being via a letter - shared with the ECHO - but have accused hospital bosses of silencing them.
READ MORE: Arrowe Park Hospital slated in meeting after patient’s 'unacceptable' 14 hour wait
The Wirral University Teaching Hospital Trust, which runs the hospital, said the 'anonymous allegations' made are not representative of the '150 hard-working and professional staff in our Emergency Department.'
An inspection of Arrowe Park by the Care Quality Commission, carried out in October and published in January raised concerns about the hospital's urgent and emergency care, which is rated as 'requires improvement'.
Inspectors identified one patient that had waited 14 hours to be admitted to a ward which they deemed 'unacceptable' and said should be looked at as a matter of 'urgency'.
The inspection also found that staff 'did not always identify and quickly act upon patients at risk of deterioration in the urgent and emergency department waiting room', although there were improvements in other areas like medical care.
It is understood that the letter of complaint from the group of ED staff members was first submitted before that inspection, when issues of winter pressures and covid may have been more prominent.
But a member of the group told the ECHO this week that many of their concerns remain and that staff members are still at 'breaking point.'
The letter states: "For the past 11 months we have been raising our concerns around patient safety, quality of care and staff health and well-being with little or no action. We feel that the community need to know what is going on at their local hospital."
They said they had experienced 'unprecedented numbers of patients', which had resulted in overcrowded waiting areas and even elderly people forced to sit on the floor.
On other occasions they said mental health patients had been forced to sit in 'chaotic' waiting areas.
The group claimed to have experienced an increase in violence and aggression towards staff, some whom have not felt safe when on shift.
They also accused the hospital's leaders of failing to listen to their concerns and even stifling them.
The Trust said it has a 'zero tolerance' approach to violence and aggression against staff and has prosecuted or sanctioned a number of offenders recently.
On staff welfare, bosses pointed to a half a million pound spend on new staff rest facilities and £100,000 being spent on specialist councillors to offer staff psychological support.
The trust also said the executive team has held regular all-staff open sessions and listening events throughout the pandemic, insisting that staff are 'freely able to ask questions.'
The letter put together by the group states: "As ED staff members we expect to work in a busy environment, and it used to be that we thrived under this pressure. However, we are now all at breaking point.
"We feel that we have no voice as there is little action when we try and speak to the Senior Management Team. Listening events are held to try and appease us but there is never any positive changes."
The letter claims there is a division within the department and that a 'feeling of mistrust and paranoia has spread like wildfire.'
They add: "Staff do not know who to turn to for fear of retribution after seeing their colleagues be silenced by cooperate bullying methods used by senior management."
The group, who said they have raised their concerns with the Trust Chief Executive and the CQC, added: "We are all proud to serve our local community and just want the simple resources to be able to fulfil our roles to the best of our ability.
"Instead, we are coming onto shift with feelings of anxiety, fear and helplessness with more and more expected of us. We are going home to our families in tears and know that if we go off sick we will be depleting an already broken and understaffed team. This needs to stop."
A spokesperson for the Trust said: "The past two years have been incredibly challenging for patients and staff. Despite the pressures, we always put the safety and wellbeing of our patients and our staff as our top priorities.
"Our staff have gone above and beyond, for a sustained period of time, caring for our patients and each other.
"Like much of the NHS in England, our staff and services are under significant pressures due to the pandemic, staff shortages arising from sickness and workforce supply, catching up the backlog of procedures post pandemic, system delays in being able to refer into specialist mental health beds and care homes, much busier than usual Emergency Departments and, in many cases, older building that are not designed for the pathways needed in the post-pandemic world.
"Senior leaders at Wirral University Teaching Hospital regularly listen to staff and then take action, working in partnership with other providers in the NHS and social care system.
"We work across Wirral, and Cheshire and Merseyside NHS and care providers, to ensure that we can discharge patients safely and so free up capacity in the hospital and the Emergency Department.
"Actions to ease pressures on the Emergency Department have included ‘streaming’ patients at the front door Changes for patients attending the Emergency Department, basing GPs in A & E to triage patients on arrival and the appointment of a Winter Resilience Director to focus on patient flow through the hospital.
"We encourage staff to raise concerns within the Trust and to their managers, through the many ways we have to listen and respond.
"These measures include an independent Freedom to Speak Up Guardian and a Guardian of Safe Working for doctors and dental staff in training, to whom staff can raise concerns and who report to our Board.
"Safe Nurse Staffing levels are also reported publicly to the Trust Board and published on our website. Healthcare professionals have a professional duty to report any concerns they may have – in the interests of a learning and transparent culture.
The statement added: "The Trust is committed to ensuring all concerns are addressed effectively and together with our staff, which has meant that the ED department has had a number of listening events with feedback to every member of the team.
"We appreciate that the investments in workforce and facilities may take some time to be felt in practice by staff and in easing pressures. We will continue our significant efforts to engage our workforce and respond to their concerns."
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