WORCESTERSHIRE’S two embattled A&E departments were subject to surprise inspections on Tuesday night.

Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission turned up at both Worcestershire Royal Hospital and Redditch’s Alexandra Hospital during the evening last night and spent about six hours inspecting and monitoring services.

Both departments have been under extreme pressure for months, leading to increasing waiting times and some patients having to be treated in the department’s corridors, and a number of concerns have been raised about the impact on safety.

Speaking today a spokesman from the commission – which inspections and health and social care services and presents its findings publicly so patients are able to chose the most appropriate and safe service – confirmed the inspection had been carried out following these concerns.

“The CQC carried out an unannounced inspection at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, both at Worcester Royal Hospital and the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch, last night in response to concerns about the accident and emergency departments,” she said.

“CQC will be feeding back its findings to the trust and a full report of our inspectors’ findings will be published in due course,” she said.

Last month five A&E consultants – all four from the Alex and another from the Royal – quit en masse. A 1,700-word open letter signed by four of the consultants was later published in which they accused the management of the trust – which runs the two sites as well as Kidderminster Hospital – of “undermining” services at the Alex.

The demand on the two hospitals &E has not only led to increased waiting times at A&E, but also delays to elective operations. The latest figures show there are currently 22,868 patients in the county waiting for a non-urgent operation, 2,489 – or 10.9 per cent – of whom have been waiting longer than the NHS-mandated 18 weeks.

The trust has also found itself in dire financial straits – it ended the 2013-2014 financial year with a 14.2 million deficit – more than £2 million higher than it had predicted – and predicted it would be £9.8 million in the red by the end of the current fiscal year.

But following a winter of “unprecedented” pressure on both the Royal and the Alex, this was revised to £27.6 million. Although this has since been amended to £25.9 million, this is still more than twice its original prediction. Earlier this year the organisation was one of 19 hospital trusts reported to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt for failing to balance its budget.

The trust has also found itself faced with allegations of bullying and harassment and earlier this month it was announced the NHS Trust Development Authority had commissioned an independent review into the claims. The Good Governance Institute will carry out the review.

A trust spokesman confirmed the unannounced inspection had taken place but did not comment further.

The findings of the inspection are expected to be published in six to eight weeks.