We hope that report is the wake-up call trust needed

We certainly don’t enjoy telling you about the problems at A&E, which was deemed inadequate in three of the four categories looked at.

The CQC considers if the service is safe, caring, well-led and responsible. The emergency department was rated inadequate in all of the categories except ‘caring’. That was rated as ‘requires improvement’.

But with many thousands of people in the Portsmouth area using the hospital, we have to share the findings of the CQC.

We would not be doing our job as a newspaper if we did not print the stark realities of what is happening.

But we know the fault does not lie solely with the QA.

And we also know that the staff work as hard as they can in the difficult situations they face.

The report highlights the caring and compassionate staff who take time to talk to patients.

The real problem is with the health care service and it will take everyone working together to see real change at A&E.

That includes Portsmouth City Council, GP practices, Hampshire County Council, South Central Ambulance Service and the Clinical Commissioning Groups in the area.

A&E is not going to change overnight, but the trust is making changes.

Under the new interim chief executive Tim Powell, steps have already been taken including the appointment of Dr Rob Haigh to oversee the emergency department and starting a short-stay centre.

This is just the beginning, but hopefully the CQC report is the wake-up call the trust needed to ensure change happens and A&E is improved.