The trust said the overall rating reflected ‘ongoing pressures of overcrowding in the Emergency Department and delays admitting patients to wards'.

Catherine Campbell, CQC deputy director of operations in the south, said: ‘The trust faced issues with the high number of people attending the department and with discharging people to the local community, which in turn created a problem of flow around the hospital. We also found people who were fit for discharge were staying in the hospital longer than they needed to because their care outside the hospital wasn't ready. 

‘This over-crowding in the emergency department created issues that the trust couldn't solve alone, and further support was needed from the local health and social care system to address.'

Chief executive Officer, Steve Williamson, said: ‘The report on our Emergency Department is fair and captures the challenging circumstances our emergency care teams and hospitals face. It is reassuring to see the rating for safe has improved to good but we accept that, together with our partners across the health and care system, we have more to do to further improve our ability to provide timely care, even at times of intense pressure, as we are currently seeing.'

The trust said a ‘great deal' had been done in the seven months since the Emergency Department inspection, including ‘the expansion and introduction of more community-based services offering alternatives to the emergency department or hospital admission'.

These initiatives have included Same Day Emergency Care units in Bodmin, Camborne-Redruth and Penzance and a new Single Point of Access advice line for GPs, ambulance crews and other health professionals to support them in directing patients to the nearest community services that can meet the individuals' needs.

Most recently a ‘Home for lunch' initiative has been launched to provide a safer discharge from hospital by getting patients home and settled earlier in the day and at the same time freeing up beds sooner to admit new patients.

A spokesperson said: ‘This will avoid long waits and over-crowding in the emergency department and consequently, ambulance queues and handover delays.'