Nuffield Health North Staffordshire Hospital

On this page

• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

The service worked with patients to understand and manage risks. Care met patients' needs in a way which was safe and supportive and enabled them to do the things that mattered to them.

When people communicated their needs, emotions or distress, staff managed this in a positive way, which protected their rights and dignity and maximised learning for the future about the causes of their distress.

We looked for evidence that patients were treated with kindness, empathy and compassion. We assessed the levels of privacy and dignity afforded to patients. We asked patients to tell us about their experiences, if they were respected, if they understood that they and their experience of how they were treated and supported mattered. We also looked for evidence that every effort was made to take patient’s wishes into account and respect their choices, to achieve the best possible outcomes for them.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect and were involved as partners in their care.

We have not awarded this service a score for Caring.

Find out about when we will not publish a key question score and what we look at when we assess Caring.

The service always treated patients with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, and took account of their individual needs. Staff introduced themselves to patients and said what their role was. Staff were discreet and responsive when caring for patients. They took their time to interact with patients and those close to them in a respectful and considerate way. Staff avoided holding private conversations over patients.

We reviewed the latest patient satisfaction survey in April 2026 and saw 98% of patients felt they were given enough privacy to discuss their condition or treatment.

We heard examples of how staff had responded to patients’ anxieties about their operation and took steps to reduce the stress within the environment. Patients who were particularly anxious, or who had cognitive impairment were able to have somebody familiar with them.

In theatres patients were covered as far as possible and not unduly exposed. Staff were respectful to the anaesthetised patients. On wards and when moving around the hospital, patients were encouraged and supported to be dressed or always covered.

Patients said staff treated them well and with kindness.

Staff followed policy to keep patient care and treatment confidential. Bad news was broken in a private setting, and voices were kept as low as possible when talking about personal information in a communal area.

The service treated patients as individuals and made sure patient’s care, support and treatment met patient’s needs and preferences. Staff took account of patients' strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Staff understood and respected the personal, cultural, social, and religious needs of patients and how they may relate to care needs. A room was available for patients if they needed quiet time or to pray.

Feedback was gathered through patient surveys and concerns were responded to. Cards with quick response codes were available for patients to scan and leave feedback or they could contact the customer relations team via a link on the website or by post.

We reviewed patient records care and saw these were tailored to individual needs and circumstances.

The service promoted patients' independence, so patients knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

The hospital accepted both NHS and private patients. There were various ways private patients were able to pay for their care and treatment. These were readily available to patients. Private patients could search on the Nuffield Health website for consultants within the speciality they required. They were then able to see a list of available appointment dates to arrange an initial consultation. We also saw NHS patients could book appointments via their GP or through NHS e-referral lines or the referral team

We saw patients were encouraged to be as independent as soon as they were able following surgery. This included becoming mobile and able to move around the ward area, toilets and bathroom. Physiotherapists provided exercise routines when needed and supported patients to learn new ways of moving, so they could be up out of bed as soon as possible.Leaders told us how physiotherapy played a fundamental role in supporting patients independence throughout their hospital stay and when preparing individuals for discharge. They told us how patient's were guided through personalised rehabilitation goals, mobility expectations, safety considerations, and exercise prescriptions appropriate to their recovery.

Prior to discharge, patients are supported to achieve the highest level of independence possible, including progression of mobility, transfers, stairs where appropriate, and activities of daily living. This approach promotes confidence, self-management, functional recovery, and safe transition from hospital to home.

Nuffield Health welcomes assistance dogs on their premises there were specific guidelines for this.

The staff listened to and understood patients’ needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to patient’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

Patients could summon staff with a call bell and staff frequently went to their rooms to assess their needs. People appeared well cared for, clean and with the items they needed such as glasses or walking aids close by. People who used mobility aids such as walking frames or crutches were assisted to use them until they regained their usual level of mobility.

Staff encouraged people, where able, to eat and drink sufficiently to maintain health.

There were emergency call bells sited close to each bed and in recovery and theatre to ensure staff could quickly call for additional and expert help.

Staff gave patients and those close to them help, emotional support and advice when they needed it. They were empathetic and considerate of the stress of a theatre environment.

The service cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.

Posters were displayed to advise staff who to speak with if they had a concern. For example, in the first instance they could go to their manager, they could talk to the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian or go to Human Resources. They could also call someone 24 hours a day.

Staff had access to resource and facilities for safe working. This included being able to take breaks, designated rest areas, drink and food out of hours and drinking water. The resident medical officer had access to private sleeping, changing, showering and toilet facilities.

Leaders told us some staff chose to have flexible working hours, such as doing only late shifts. Staff could access the wellbeing hub to find information to support them such as information on sleep and stress. The hospital held monthly recognition awards, and we heard of staff receiving prizes such as meal vouchers. There were also ‘high 5’ awards for all hospitals and gyms where staff could win vouchers.

Staff were able to provide feedback in staff surveys, raise concerns and suggest ways to improve the service or staff experiences and could expect a response. There was a people newsletter which went out to staff, it contained information such as upcoming events. Staff surveys showed staff in theatres scored 8.3 out of 10, the ward scored 8 out of 10 and pre assessment scored a 9.6 out of 10 in relation to the question ‘is health and wellbeing a priority at Nuffield Health’.

Staff had access to personalised support which recognised the diversity of a workforce with proactive and reactive measures. Staff felt valued by their leaders and their colleagues. Staff had opportunities to contribute to service development.

Nuffield Health ensured that employees could access an employee voice engagement survey to provide feedback either through an email invitation or a quick response code or weblink. Line managers who received 5 or more responses from direct or indirect reports had access to a leader dashboard to view results and review feedback from employees. We reviewed a sample of staff survey comments and saw staff opinions included “my manager is a great support network to achieve more” and “throughout my experience at the Nuffield I have only had positive experiences with all members of the multi-disciplinary team that I have met”.