Farnborough’s Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH) has been told to improve after health inspectors found cancelled operations and patients waiting more than 12 hours for a bed.

The PRUH, run by King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, was rated 'requires improvement' following a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in April this year.

The CQC report published on September 30 said operations were cancelled and not always rescheduled and undertaken within 28 days.

Inspectors also found a cramped surgical assessment unit meant confidential information could be overheard when staff went through theatre checklists with patients.

Sylvia Sinfield, 52, has been receiving treatment at the hospital for kidney disease, and was due for a routine kidney operation to have a stent replaced in September.

But the operation was cancelled, rescheduled for six weeks later and Ms Sinfield has since been admitted to the intensive care unit after developing septicaemia.

Her son Andrew Sinfield, of Felstead Road, Orpington has complained to King’s and an investigation has been launched.

The 28-year-old told News Shopper: "It’s all a bit of a shambles.

"No one wants to lose their mum and she is not well at all.

"She is a fighter, she really is.

"The intensive care staff have been fantastic.

"It’s the hospital management that’s the problem."

A King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust spokesman apologised for the standard of care Mr Sinfield’s mother had experienced.

He said: "This is not acceptable, and we would like to apologise again for the care she received, which fell well short of the high standards patients rightly expect of us.

"We are investigating to establish what happened."

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The Princess Royal University Hospital, Farnborough Common

King’s took over running the PRUH, in Farnborough Common, in October 2013 and the CQC recognised improvements since the hospital’s last inspection in December that year.

But the CQC report also said the PRUH’s emergency department was not achieving the expected standard to see, treat and discharge patients within four hours.

It said: "Once a decision to admit a patient was made they often had to wait more than 12 hours for a bed to become available."

Sharon Haydon, 50, from Days Lane, Sidcup, was recently admitted to the hospital’s emergency department.

She said: "The hospital was near to breaking point with staff working at an overloaded rate.

"But the level of care I received was first class and so kind I was moved to tears.

"It’s important the staff aren’t bashed for this and the real blame lies with lack of funds for an increasingly overstretched resource."

CQC inspectors found outstanding practice in the stroke unit, one of the most improved services in the country having risen from a Level D rating to Level A in 18 months.

Pets as Therapy (PAT) dogs, an initiative to help patients who may have been in hospital for longer periods or may be feeling low after suffering a disability from a stroke, also received praise.

CQC inspectors rated the trust as ‘requires improvement’ overall and inspected the three hospital sites it runs individually.

King’s College Hospital in Denmark Hill was also rated ‘requires improvement’ and Orpington Hospital received a ‘good’ rating.

The trust was rated “requires improvement” in all areas except on whether services are caring, which was rated “good” with inspectors describing care as “delivered with compassion and dignity”.

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Roland Sinker, King's College Hospital NHS Trust's acting chief executive

Roland Sinker, the trust’s acting chief executive, said: "We want and need to do better.

"We are pleased the CQC praised the compassionate care our staff provide to patients every day.

"It is also positive that the CQC singled out some of our specialist services for praise.

"Many of the issues the CQC has identified as requiring improvement are already known to us and we have made significant progress since their inspection in April.

"However, we want to be providing high quality services to every patient that comes through our doors."