'Breakfast placed next to needles': Councillors raise concerns over 'unacceptable' CQC report
An “unacceptable” report into emergency care at Huddersfield’s Royal Infirmary (HRI) has revealed patients are being served breakfast next to “open blood cultures”.
The final inspection report from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for HRI’s Urgent and Emergency Care was published on June 1, 2026, where the service received an overall rating of requires improvement – a decline from the previous rating of good.
Representatives from HRI were called to the Calderdale and Kirklees Joint Health Scrutiny Committee on Thursday (Aug 6), where they told councillors they “recognised practice needed to improve”.
In the report, the CQC found the service did not always assess or manage the risk of infection, with staff observed providing a patient with breakfast, which was placed on a metal phlebotomy trolley next to open blood cultures and a needle left exposed.
During the meeting – chaired by Councillor Liz Smaje – the report was cited by concerned Calderdale councillor Cathy Featherstone, who flagged incidents such as those involving the phlebotomy trolley may be markers of a “deeper cultural issue” within the hospital.
Addressing the chamber, Coun Featherstone said: “What concerns me is, for example, I would expect infection control practices to be part of basic clinical training, not something that needs to have an extra policy.
“I would also expect staff to be looking out for unsafe practices. Risks (like the trolley incident) should be obvious.” She later branded the example as “not acceptable”.
In response, the chief nurse at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, Jo Hilton, assured additional support had been provided to staff.
Ms Hilton said: “We have regular safety huddles in the department that are documented so that we’re really clear at any point in time (on) any additional support that’s needed to help those nurses and doctors provide the best care.”
The incident was also addressed by Dr Mark Davies, consultant in emergency medicine, who assured that no staff member “comes to work with the aim of leaving somebody’s dinner next to a needle”.
Dr Davies said: “It’s easy to show it as a fundamental case, but when you have an emergency department with 100 patients – some of whom are actively dying – then the question is how do we make sure we give the same priority to (the trolley incident) when the departments are really, really busy, versus not that busy. That’s where the extra support comes in.”
The report shared with the chamber also assured the board the Trust will continue to deliver agreed action plans within established timescales and provide regular assurance updates.