The £15m unit which opened in May 2024 has been downgraded from “good” to “requires improvement”
12:04, 29 May 2026
The Accident and Emergency Department at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary(Image: Andrew Robinson)
Staff have raised concerns about services feeling “unsafe” due to high demand at the accident and emergency department at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary.
Healthcare staff reported periods where the busy department felt unsafe to to high demand, particularly at night, with paediatrics a particular concern, according to a report from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Inspectors from the CQC who visited in January and February witnessed “significant overcrowding”, with 83 patients present in a unit already at 100% occupancy.
The CQC said “corridor care compromised patients’ safety, privacy and dignity, and limited staff’s ability to provide safe care.”
The £15m A&E department at HRI opened in May 2024. It was heralded as having “world-class facilities” and is almost double the size of the old one.
Huddersfield Royal Infirmary’s new A&E unit opened in May 2024(Image: NHS)
Following an inspection, the CQC has now downgraded the overall rating of urgent and emergency services at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust from ‘good’ to ‘requires improvement’.
Chris Storton, of the CQC, said: “When we inspected urgent and emergency care at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, we found staff were kind and working hard to meet people’s needs under considerable pressure but weren’t always able to do so due to the department being extremely busy and overcrowded.
“Staff reported periods where the service felt unsafe due to high demand, particularly at night, with paediatrics as a particular concern. Despite this, staff continued to prioritise safety and manage risks as best they could under difficult circumstances.
“We saw corridor care compromising people’s safety, privacy and dignity, with limited staff available to provide safe care. People, including those with cognitive impairment, were cared for in corridors which limited staff oversight, and some were moved overnight to areas not designed for inpatient care.
“Handovers between services were often poor and lacked important details. For example, staff hadn’t informed another department that someone was being treated for cancer and therefore had a weakened immune system. Other people were handed over without time-critical medications and medical history being explained.
“It was positive to see teams working well together across the service. Nurses with specialisms in diabetes, dementia and falls were employed so care could be given quickly to people in those risk areas.
Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, Acre Street, Lindley
“We have told leaders where we expect to see rapid, and continued improvements and will continue to monitor the service closely to keep people safe during this time. We have begun the process of taking regulatory action in order to protect people further.”
Inspectors found:
There were variations in how quickly staff administered medicines to people identified of being at high risk of sepsisMany people had been waiting for over 12 hours with no food or drink being offeredPeople sometimes waited without being offered pain relief meaning they were in discomfort whilst waiting to be seenPeople’s bed rail assessments weren’t always completed to ensure they were protected from fallsStaff were aware of the key themes from recent complaints and incidents and felt confident raising issues and concerns with leaders when they aroseThe department was visibly clean, with up-to-date cleaning schedules on showInspectors saw areas of good practice including mental health liaison support and proactive learning from incidents
In a statement, Jo Hilton, Chief Nurse at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are very sorry that at the time the CQC visited us, some patients did not receive the standard of urgent and emergency care they should expect at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary.
“The findings in this report reflect issues we recognise, particularly around long waits, overcrowding and the impact this can have on people’s comfort, dignity, and safety when our department is at its busiest. We apologise unreservedly to those patients and families whose experience fell below the high standards they deserve.
“Patient safety is our absolute priority, Since the inspection in January, when we were experiencing some of our highest ever levels of attendances, we have already undertaken significant work to address the CQC’s concerns. This includes the introduction of new processes to improve information sharing between our internal teams and our healthcare partners, and better access to food and drink for our patients.
“We were pleased to read in the report that most people the CQC spoke with were warm and positive about their experience in our emergency department and that inspectors observed respectful, caring interactions and patients feeling listened to, safe and involved in decisions.
“While we are proud that inspectors recognised the kindness, compassion, and dedication of our staff, it is clear that the pressures on the department have, at times, meant we have not delivered care in the way we want to. That is not where we want to be, and we take full responsibility for putting it right.”
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