Out-of-hours NHS Wales hospital care criticised as ‘inadequate’

Nick Bennet, the public services ombudsman of Wales, has said a snapshot of 12 cases investigated over five years revealed ‘inadequate standards of care’ in hospitals, including weekend services.

The watchdog has called for a systematic review of out-of-hours hospital care in Wales.

Bennett claimed he found ‘significant clinical failings’ in the cases, including poor quality out-of-hours care, which often related to inadequate consultant supervision.

He said: "This report emphasises the need for more effective and equitable clinical care to be provided seven days a week with greater consultant supervision, as well as the requirement for health boards to ensure their staff are adhering to the guidelines that are already established and accepted as good practice.”

The cases highlighted included: inadequate consultant cover across seven days; delays in medical review and lack of consultant review; a lack of senior supervision for junior medical staff; and a failure to meet pre-existing standards of care and established guidelines.

Among other recommendations, Bennet urged a ‘cultural shift’ to encourage junior doctors to escalate concerns to senior consultants, regardless of what time of day or day of the week it is.

The Welsh government argued that the report was based on just 12 out of millions of admissions to hospitals and that a range of measures had been introduced since 2012, when some of the cases occurred.