THE borough's hospital, which sent a woman home just hours before she died of food poisoning, is among 17 listed as being understaffed.
Queen's Hospital in Romford, which discharged Della Callagher, 46, has been issued with a warning by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
The hospital was told in the report, published in the Sunday Telegraph, that it did not have enough staff "to keep people safe and meet their health and welfare needs".
However, trust chairman Sir Peter Dixon said concerns are historic and date back to a report published 18 months ago.
But he admits that recruiting enough emergency care staff remains a problem.
Mrs Callagher was among 30 people who fell ill after eating a Christmas Day meal at the Railway Hotel in Hornchurch.
She was taken to Queen's Hospital but later sent home to recuperate
But as her health continued to decline, the mother of a 14-year-old girl was taken back to the hospital where she died on December 27.
Mrs Callagher's husband John, who lives about a mile from the restaurant in Hornchurch, is unhappy with the treatment his wife received.
Sir Peter Dixon said: "The report from the CQC highlighting concerns with staffing levels at Queen's Hospital dates back to July 2011.
"In the 18 months since the report was published we have been working hard to address the issue and have had great success in filling vacancies in many departments. We have seen particular improvements in our maternity department, where our midwife to birth ratio is 1:29 – among the best in London. Our labour ward also has the highest levels of consultant cover in the capital.
"However, like many other hospitals, we are struggling to recruit to certain areas – particularly around emergency care.
"Patient safety remains an absolute priority, and we continue to work hard to address the situation."
However the hospital insists that proper procedures were followed.
Medical director Dr Mike Gill said: "Dr Mike Gill said: "A patient attended our emergency department on Boxing Day with what appeared to be food poisoning.
"The patient was seen and fully assessed by a senior clinician and given appropriate treatment and advice before returning home.
"The trust followed accepted medical practice. We will be fully reviewing the case."
