Patients Left in Pain as Major NHS Trust Faces Staffing Crisis

As of November 14th, 2025, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has issued a stern warning to the Northern Care Alliance (NCA) NHS Foundation Trust over its surgical services at Salford Royal Hospital. The CQC's inspection, conducted at the end of September, found that patients were being left in pain and wards were in disarray, with urine bottles "stacking up."

Multiple sources have revealed that frontline staff have repeatedly raised concerns to trust executives about the dire staffing situation, but feel completely "abandoned" by the leadership. The CQC's official Section 29A warning notice states that the trust must make significant improvements by February 2026, or face further action, including potential takeover by another body.

The notice highlights the trust's chronic short-staffing, with hundreds of instances of nurses being shifted between wards to plug the gaps. This has raised serious concerns about the department's ability to provide adequate care, with claims that staffing levels were unsafe. Inspectors found evidence that patients were routinely denied pain relief, and in one tragic case, a patient with significant chest injuries did not receive pain medication for hours before being found dead.

The trust has also faced issues with delays in administering critical intravenous medications to patients. A senior clinician warned that the NCA is heading towards a "Mid Staffordshire" style scandal, where patient safety has been compromised due to a focus on finances and national targets.