Doctor feared Stafford Hospital A&E was putting patients at risk

A trainee doctor at Stafford Hospital A&E described the department as unsafe and putting patients at risk but his fears were not passed to training chiefs, it has emerged.

The doctor said there was no senior cover by consultants and that during the night and at weekends it was "sink or swim". The public inquiry heard he said there were not enough nurses in the department and those that were available "were too busy shuffling patients from pillar to post to avoid breaches of the four-hour waiting target."

He said there were "unsafe levels of clinical workload" and concluded by saying he would "categorically not" recommend the post to a friend.

Although the evaluation in June 2008 was seen by the West Midlands Dean Dr Elizabeth Hughes, who oversaw training of medical students in the region, she did not inform the Post Graduate Medical Education and Training Board, which is ultimately responsible for training.

Dr Hughes described the educational environment at the hospital as "dreadful" and "very bad." Although an action plan was drawn up by the hospital as a result of the concerns in 2008 the Healthcare Commission found serious and dangerous issues in A&E in its report in March 2009.