Staff working at Enfield’s only emergency department have called it “unsafe” after it emerged patients have died due to errors in A&E.

North Middlesex Hospital has been hit by a series of crises in recent weeks, after it emerged it may be forced to close unless improvements are made.

After failing a recent government inspection, Health Education England threatened to remove all 26 junior doctors working in the A&E due to the working conditions, which could prove fatal to the already understaffed department.

Now, an unpublished HEE report revealed in the Guardian has indicated doctors at the A&E department, which treats up to 500 patients a day, have “been reduced to tears by the sheer volume of patients they had to deal with, and they felt that they regularly had to send children home without having discussed their case with anyone senior.”

The report says: “They often finished their shift and returned home full of anxiety that they had not been able to provide care at an appropriate level.

“Issues were raised about the competency of some staff. As a result of this, there were concerns about patient safety. This was exacerbated by the high volume of patients coming through the department. The department was reported to be ‘unsafe, unsupported and relentless’.”

Examples of this are shown in the deaths of patients as a result of misdiagnosis or error.

These include in 2014, when staff did not spot that a patient was suffering a heart attack and did not call the hospital’s cardiac arrest crash team, and another where they did not give a patient suffering from pneumonia fluids and antibiotics for five hours after their arrival, even though NHS protocol says this should happen within an hour.

In another case in December, revealed by the Enfield Independent earlier this year, person died despite being regularly observed and checked on by hospital staff.

Attempts are now being made to save the hospital’s future, with all five MPs from Enfield and Haringey meeting with health minister Ben Gummer to discuss what action can be taken

One of the MPs, Enfield North representative Joan Ryan, said: “Things have got so bad that one night earlier this year people – many of whom had been waiting for hours – were told that unless their illness was life-threatening they had to go home. That can't be right – and how can anyone be expected to know just how ill they are, without seeing a doctor?

“We will be closely monitoring the situation at the hospital, supporting the dedicated frontline medical staff who work there and putting pressure on the government to provide the extra doctors required, so that North Mid and our NHS provides the service our constituents deserve.”

North Middlesex said every death at the hospital "is a source of regret and sadness", but added the trust’s mortality rates, which increased to a higher than expected level between December 2014 to March 2015, were in line with the rest of the country.

North Middlesex University Hospital chief executive Julie Lowe said: "We apologise for the concerns about our A&E caused by the shortage of  doctors and consltants. We are working hard with our partners to resolve the issues and bring about the improvements we all want for our patients and hardworking staff.

"We acknowledge and apologise for the concerns of some of our junior doctors about the quality of their training in the department. However, there is and always has been at least one and usually two or more middle grade doctors or consultants on duty. Junior, unqualified staff were never left in charge of the A&E department overnight or at any other time."