The Chief Inspector of Hospitals found problems with services, run by East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, including accident and emergency and maternity.
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In addition, “substantial” shortages of midwives were noted and lack of workforce planning which inspectors found had contributed to the maternity unit being closed 37 times between July 2013 and April 2015.
One example saw high levels of nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, detected in the Rosie Birth Centre.
This has been linked to dizziness as well as unconsciousness or death if there is a lack of oxygen.
Within maternity services, inspectors noted guidelines provided by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and royal colleges were not being followed, including those for foetal heart rate monitoring, venous thromboembolism and early warning scores.
Only patient care provided by front-line staff was praised, being rated uniformly “Good” in all 10 categories inspected.
There were also 12 staff members who did not have up to date safeguarding training, which meant that they “did not have the appropriate and up to date guidance in their role”.
Monitor has also imposed a new condition on the trust’s licence, enabling the regulator to take further action, such as replacing senior staff, if improvements are not made swiftly enough.
Some patients waited too long to be assessed by a registered nurse on arrival.
During the inspection, there was a backlog of 227 ophthalmology and 233 dermatology patients waiting for a call back and a total of 605 across all specialities.
And the pressure on surgical services also meant routine operations were often cancelled and patients were waiting longer than the Government’s 18-week target for treatment.
He said the trust acknowledges that although they have put improvements in place since the inspection in March, there is “still more to do”.
CUH Trust, which has more than 1,000 beds, is already under scrutiny by Monitor over its financial dealings.
The trust, which is said to be predicting a £64m deficit this year, has apologised to patients. We are therefore disappointed that the issues highlighted previously by the CQC have not been addressed at the pace and scale we would expect.
The spokeswoman said the trust had a “hugely busy” summer which meant the hospital had to open up more areas to care for people, all of which pushed the costs up.
The findings, which were published today, have seen the trust again rated Inadequate.
“Today’s CQC report makes it clear that if we are to continue, and build, on this success, we need to make sure our internal processes are strong and effectively support the delivery of these outstanding outcomes”.
He said he did not think there was “any sane or rational interpretation of the word ‘inadequate”‘ that would describe any aspect of the operations at Addenbrooke’s.
Both the chief executive and the hospital’s chief finance officer resigned last week, ahead of the report’s publication. We will take rapid action to address these concerns and maintain our record of safety and high-quality care.
He added: “We were concerned that in some services, staff were caring for people in areas unfamiliar to them, meaning patient safety and welfare was placed at risk”.
Junior doctors have threatened strike action (Getty) The NHS has increased staffing numbers in recent years, as hospitals sought to improve safety in the wake of the Francis Report into poor care standards at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.
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That decision was later suspended while a review is undertaken into the issue. The trust is losing £1.2m a week.
