Pressure on emergency care in West Yorkshire delaying treatment for patients
Inspectors say urgent improvements need to be made across the county, including to 999 and 111 services
Some patients are facing delays in hospital care because of "continued pressures" on urgent and emergency care across West Yorkshire, inspectors have said.
The Care Quality Commission also found there were staffing issues in some services, while others are struggling to meet demand.
It looked at dozens of the county's services between March and May this year, including Bradford Royal Infirmary and the Yorkshire Ambulance Service.
Ann Ford, director of operations network at the CQC said: "“The NHS 111 service was experiencing significant staffing challenges and were in the process of recruiting new staff.
"Also, this service had experienced an increase in demand, particularly from people trying to access dental treatment, although a system was in place to manage the need for dental advice and assessment."
Inspectors did say that not every patient had experienced delays, and that some emergency departments were performing "relatively" well.
In response to the inspection Dr Adam Sheppard, Chair of West Yorkshire Urgent and Emergency Care Board said: "It has been helpful to work with the CQC on their new approach to inspecting organisations in a system.
"Their reflections on areas of good practice and good relationships with coordinated action are reassuring.
"It is also notable that they highlight consistent pressure, staffing and social care capacity as issues in West Yorkshire, as these feature consistently in most areas across the country as challenges that need to be addressed.
"We are acutely aware of the challenges faced by our staff and by local people and are absolutely committed to working together across the whole of the system to better join up care and to deliver safe care for all."