Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich has been rated as ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in a significant outcome for the trust that runs it.
This is the first time the CQC has rated Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) Good since the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust—which operates the hospital—formed in 2013.
Inspectors from the independent healthcare regulator visited the hospital over four days earlier this year and looked at urgent and emergency care, medical care, outpatients and diagnostic imaging to assess the quality of the care received by patients using those services.
All but one of the assessed categories was rated as Good, and so the QEH had its overall rating improved from Requires Improvement to Good. Inspectors did rate the hospital’s ‘Safe’ category as Requires Improvement.
Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust CEO Ben Travis said: “This is such a proud day for all of us at LGT. The QEH is an extremely busy hospital caring for a wide range of patients across Greenwich and Bexley, many with complex health needs.
“Over the last few years, we have focused on improving the QEH as a place to deliver and receive care and I am delighted that this has been recognised by the CQC.
“There is much praise in the report—some of the highlights include our high standard of clinical practice, our culture of teamwork and collaboration, and the kindness and warmth that we show our patients—and there is some challenge that will keep us focused on continuous improvement.
“But the overall message from the CQC is clear—the QEH is a hospital that we can be proud of and our patients can trust.
“This means so much to us here and I would like to thank all my colleagues and our partners for every improvement moment that has led us to this rating today, and our patients for their feedback, and challenge along the way. Now the work to drive further improvement starts.”
CQC inspectors found five safety breaches within the hospital’s medical care, which is why the QEH’s Safe rating was Requires Improvement. It has asked the hospital to come up with an action plan in response to the breaches.
The CQC report states: “Patients who were no longer suitable for corridor care were not transferred in a timely manner, risk assessments were not always completed in line with trust guidance, clinical areas did not always follow national fire safety guidance infection, prevention and control (IPC) principles were not always followed, and patient confidentiality was not always maintained.”
Besides these breaches, CQC inspectors were generally positive about patient experience at the QEH. The other four categories (Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led) were all rated Good.
The CQC found that “care and treatment were consistently delivered in line with national guidance” and patients were “consistently treated with kindness, compassion and respect, with staff providing clear explanations, emotional support and tailored care”.
Data for the last 12 months gathered by the CQC showed that 94 per cent of respondents were positive about the care they received at the Woolwich hospital and only 2 per cent of patients reported experiencing poor care.
The healthcare regulator also found that the QEH’s services were “well organised and person centred” and hospital leaders had fostered a “positive culture of openness, learning and continuous improvement, supported in the main by clear governance structures”.
Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust said it had made many improvements to its services at the QEH since its last CQC inspection. The hospital was rated Requires Improvement after it was inspected in August 2023.
QEH improvements include more than 100 new beds to increase hospital capacity, opening a new Same Day Emergency Care unit, investing in a dedicated, state-of-the-art MRI and CT scanning hub and refurbishing its cardiac catheter lab.
The Trust’s Chief Nurse, Louise Crosby, said: “This is a real team achievement and a fantastic acknowledgement of how far we have come at the QEH in delivering safe, compassionate care for our patients. We have felt these improvements internally over the last few years and it feels like the right time to have this progress recognised by the CQC.
“It is a moment to celebrate and enjoy but also to reinforce that we know that we don’t get everything right and there is still lots to improve on and learn from. Our Good rating will not lead to complacency; it will spur us on with listening to and engaging with our patients to ensure that we are always improving against our goal to deliver safe and compassionate care.”
