SERIOUS staff shortages have been identified at North Manchester General Hospital in an inspection report.

The Care Quality Commission inspected the hospital and three others in February and March and have today detailed the severe lack of doctors in the A&E ward at North Manchester.

Trust leaders say new management took charge immediately after the inspection ended and set about putting in place a wide range of improvement measures.

You can read the trust's full response to the report - and three other articles about the inspection - in separate news stories elsewhere on this website.

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The report says: “(Staff shortage) was particularly significant within urgent and emergency care, medicine, maternity and gynaecology and children’s and young people’s service.”

Bosses had agreed there should be nine consultants in A&E and 20 doctors but, the report says, there was only one consultant employed by the hospital and eight doctors.

Consultants from other hospitals and locum doctors were plugging gaps.

The report adds: “As a result, the department relied heavily on locum doctors of all grades.

“There was limited assurance that the performance of locum doctors was being reviewed on a regular basis.

"This was important, as locum doctors formed a large percentage of the medical workforce.”

There were also significant shortages in medical, midwifery and nurse staffing and “wards and departments were not always adequately staffed to meet the needs of patients in terms of numbers and skills.”

On three occasions, Pennine Acute Hospitals Trust did not meet national guidelines on staffing levels and there were particular problems at Royal Oldham Hospital, which has had staffing problems since 2013.

“It was only during our inspection that arrangements were made to provide adequate medical cover in this area,” the report says.

CQC inspectors did not express concerns about staffing levels at Fairfield Hospital.

Their report says there was a recruitment programme to fill vacancies there and they were covered by locum or agency staff in the meantime.

It adds: “Such staff were provided with inductions to ensure they understood the hospital’s policies and procedures.

“The information we reviewed indicated medical staffing was appropriate.”

Visit cqc.org.uk/provider/RW6 to read the full report.