Urgent and emergency services at the trust were rated inadequate and medical care requires improvement following the inspection between December 2024 and March 2025. 

Hazel Roberts, CQC deputy director of operations in the East of England, said: ‘When we inspected Basildon University Hospital, we found serious overcrowding in the emergency department was risking people's safety. While the trust faced a shortage of beds on the medical wards, the disjointed leadership in the ED was undermining improvements that could help keep people safe and reduce this pressure.'

Inspectors found ‘serious overcrowding' and ‘disjointed leadership' in the emergency department with some people waiting over 12 hours.

The environment was also in poor condition with encrusted liquids found on the floor and bowls of bodily fluids left for multiple hours.

The CQC also found the queuing system ‘confusing' with people not sent to the right services.

Trust response

Matthew Hopkins, chief executive for Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said the ‘rating is not where we want to be, and we are working hard to improve'.

Changes have included: installing a dedicated ED team trained to identify those patients who might deteriorate while they wait so they can be moved up the queue and seen quicker if required, along with a new booking-in system to help staff decide how quickly patients need to be seen.

The trust said regular staff reviews were carried out to ensure sufficient numbers were in place and a new senior nursing role had been introduced to focus on those patients who were particularly unwell.

In addition, the trust said discharge teams worked with healthcare partners to quickly put care packages in place so patients could leave hospital safely and create bed space for those who need it.

‘Whilst we recognise there is still more to do, we are confident these changes have already improved our services,' Hopkins said.