Medical staff at the adult critical care unit at the John Radcliffe Hospital had not completed mandatory training to the required level, a watchdog has found.

Several other concerns were raised including staff fatigue and the unit not having the right staff skill mix.

But overall, the new adult critical care unit was praised by staff and found to meet national standards.

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Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) were called into the department in November after they received concerns from staff, regarding admissions, increasing clinical accidents and its governance.

The report stated: “One of the concerns raised to the Care Quality Commission was staffing skill mix.

“These concerns had been raised to the education team and formed part of the education plan we saw.

“Staff also provided us with examples of where patients had waited 48 hours for specific treatment due to a lack of competency and experience on the unit.

“For example, a patient that was in deep sedation required the sedation lessening in order that further tests could be completed.

“Tests were delayed by 48 hours until staff attended the unit who had the competencies to do this.

“Investigation into the incident showed the delay did not impact the patient’s outcome.

“However, was an example of how staff skill mix was impacting delivery of care.

The report also identified several areas of good practice.

These included cleanliness and the control of infection, the management of medicines and the vision for the service’s development.

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Oxford University Hospitals who manage the John Radcliffe explained they are now working to implement the changes that had been suggested by the inspectors.

Professor Meghana Pandit, chief executive officer of the trust, said: "On behalf of the Trust Board, I would like to thank all staff working in Oxford Critical Care for their positive approach to the CQC inspection in November and for everything that they do every day to look after the patients in their care.

"I am pleased that the CQC inspectors have publicly recognised, in the report published today, that our Oxford Critical Care staff are focused on the needs of patients, and have identified a number of other positive areas.

"However, it is important to acknowledge that the CQC inspectors also found some areas for improvement which we need to address together.

"The Trust Board is working with the management team and all staff to make improvements.

“This improvement will be monitored through the Trust's governance processes and recruitment to a dedicated role to lead the improvement is underway."