Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich gets ‘Good’ rating from the CQC | News

Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich (QEH) has been upgraded by the Care Quality Commission to a rating of ‘Good’.

The CQC, which regulates all health and adult social care in England, called out the brilliant journey of improvement at the QEH, while also praising the teamwork across departments and the compassionate, person-centre care delivered by our 3,500-strong team there. 

Ben Travis, CEO of Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust's 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.”

Louise Crosby, Chief Nurse at LGT, 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.” 

Over the last few years, we have been focussed on improving services and facilities at QEH, which have included:

• Increasing capacity with more than 100 new beds
• Opening a new Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) unit that allows the QEH team to assess, diagnose, treat and safely discharge applicable patients the very same day they engage with NHS services
• Delivering a new model of Urgent and Emergency Care allowing for swifter triage upon arrival at A&E right the way through to a smoother discharge process
• Investing in a dedicated, state-of-the-art MRI and CT scanning hub
• Refurbishing the Cardiac Catheter Lab
• Innovating with partners, for example on the Transfer of Care Hub, which brings together health, social care, and voluntary sector partners together in one shared space enabling coordinated, patient-centred discharge

The CQC visited QEH’s many diagnostic and screening services, medical care areas (including care of the elderly), Urgent and Emergency services, including the Emergency Department, and for the first time as a standalone unit, the hospital’s extensive Outpatient services.  

It’s team of Inspectors measured against five different domains: Effective, Caring, Responsive, Well-led and Safe. Here are some of the comments from the QEH report against each one: 

• Effective: The CQC found that care and treatment were consistently delivered in line with national guidance, with strong multidisciplinary working and cross-team communication, robust assessment of needs, and routine monitoring all contributing to good patient outcomes.
• “The [A&E] had effective processes and tools for assessing patients when they first presented to the department and monitored patients for signs of deterioration when they were taken into the main department.”
• Caring: The CQC stated that patients were consistently treated with kindness, compassion and respect, with staff providing clear explanations, emotional support and tailored care.
• “We observed caring interactions across the wards… One patient described staff as “so helpful and wonderful.”
• Responsive: Services were well organised and person centred, with good access, clear communication and with efforts made consistently to tailor care to individual needs.
• “I was seen quickly by trained nursing staff who regularly updated me on waiting times.”
• Well-led: Leadership was described as “inclusive at all levels”, visible and supportive, with a positive culture of openness, learning and continuous improvement, supported in the main by clear governance structures.
• “Leaders and the culture they created promoted high-quality, person-centred care.”
• Safe: While there was some inconsistency that meant this domain was the only one not marked ‘Good’, the CQC observed a strong safety culture with effective incident reporting, safeguarding and staffing and systems.
• “There was a positive learning safety culture where incidents were investigated, and learning was shared and embedded to promote good practice.”

This is the first time that the CQC have rated Queen Elizabeth Hospital as ‘Good’ since the formation of Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust in 2013.

We hope this news feels as positive to our wonderful community and our patients as it does to us here at the Trust – we are so proud of our amazing TeamLGT!