THE leadership of Colchester General Hospital’s emergency department is not good enough, a health watchdog has warned.

The Care Quality Commission carried out a snap inspection the Turner Road hospital’s A&E department and Emergency Assessment Unit last month.

Although the complete inspection report will not be published until January, the CQC has published a letter sent to interim chief executive Lucy Moore after the inspection.

In it, Prof Sir Mike Richards, chief inspector of hospitals, said: “In both A&E and EAU, we found that the leadership of these areas was below an acceptable standard.

“In both areas we found a lack of co-ordination of working arrangements that met the needs of patients, and in EAU we had concerns about the effectiveness of governance arrangements.”

He added: “Morale amongst staff was generally low.”

Sir Mike also said there were incidents were not treated with dignity and respect, adding: “When we reviewed records, we found cases where there was no record that all appropriate assessments had been carried out, including assessments required under the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.

“In some cases treatment had been provided, or individuals’ liberty had been restricted, without any record to show that appropriate consent or assessments had taken place.”

He also raised concerns over staffing levels in both departments.

The hospital declared a “major incident” immediately following the inspection and issued advice to residents saying they should only attend A&E if they are suffering from a serious or life-threatening illness.

It has also emerged a further visit was carried out by the CQC on November 27 - two weeks after the initial November 11 visit - during which inspectors recorded a “remarkable change” in both A&E and EAU.

Hospital chiefs have also said staff in both departments are also being given additional safeguarding training.