Single nurse left alone to care for 17 patients amid staffing crisis

Damning report cites serious concerns of potential harm to patients because of unsafe staffing levels at Midlands hospital and warns NHS trust it must improve

A single nurse was left in charge of 17 patients with complex needs on a ward at a hospital run by an NHS trust struggling with ‘significant’ nursing vacancies, a damning report says.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) report , published on 19 April, warned of potential harm to patients because of unsafe staffing levels at the Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands. Nursing staff reported two patient falls on the same day due to a lack of staff, while on a separate occasion a nurse on another