A hospital employee has revealed their experience of working in the NHS, claiming that the care “isn’t patient first”.

The health worker at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton said staff are not able to prioritise patients due to time pressures and that care is “all about targets”.

Their scathing comments come amid warnings that care needs to improve at the under-pressure hospital with inspectors earlier this year highlighting a culture of bullying.

The worker, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “Morale is really low. There always not enough staff and the side rooms get left.

“The top management haven’t got a clue about what is going on on the ground.

“When they say it is patient first, it isn’t. It’s all about targets.

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“I have been working in healthcare for over 30 years and you used to have time to talk to patients.”

They said the hospital's new Louisa Martindale building is “nice” but “huge” with staff covering more ground on their shifts as a result.

A report from the Care Quality Commission found "bullying", "harassment" and a "culture of fear" at the hospital trust. The Royal Sussex was downgraded to "requires improvement".

The NHS is under pressure nationwide with junior doctors and consultants continuing their strikes for better pay and working conditions.

Dr Andy Heeps, chief operating officer and deputy chief executive officer at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, said he knew staff were under duress.

He said: "I think everyone knows just how hard it is for people working in the health service right now and for some time - I’ve been working in the NHS for the last 20 years as a doctor, a consultant and a manager and I’ve never known it as tough as this.

"Whenever I spend time with our teams I hear about the pressures they face but I'm also struck by the fantastic work they continue to do for their patients and for their colleagues.

"Nobody can simply make these pressures go away but we must do whatever we can to support our colleagues to do a good job and feel supported. That is an overriding priority for us as an organisation."

Dr Heeps and other members of senior management are said to regularly visit hospital staff to hear concerns from them.

Clinical teams were involved in the design of the new Louisa Martindale building which was opened this year and had been in the works for over a decade.