Boston West 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 cared for patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. Staff treated patients as individuals and tailored their care to their specific needs. Patients had choice over their treatment and staff were quick to respond to their changing needs. Leaders were approachable and cared about colleagues’ wellbeing. Staff were encouraged to develop in their careers and felt supported by line managers and the group senior leadership.

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 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 was exceptional at treating people with kindness, empathy and compassion and in how they respected people’s privacy and dignity. Staff always treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

Staff took the time to provide individual care for patients and showed real empathy. We saw that patients received care and support that was exceptionally compassionate and kind. We saw that staff worked as a close-knit team right across the service. They told us they supported their colleagues in the same kind and respectful way they cared for patients.

We spoke with 10 patients who were all positive in their comments about the care and kindness they'd received from staff. Patients told us they were often asked about their wellbeing throughout their interaction with staff. They mentioned the emotional support staff provided and said staff took time to listen and learn about the person as well as their needs as a patient. One patient said: “I can’t praise them enough; I’ve never been so well looked after."

We saw staff show compassion and kindness to patients who were nervous about their procedure. Staff went the extra mile to reassure patients. We saw that one patient admitted she was anxious about her procedure, and a staff member tried to put her at ease by discussing the book she was reading and chatted about the books they liked.

Staff told us they would make every effort to make sure patients had privacy and maintained their dignity whilst changing. They would ask patients permission before touching them and regularly checked that people were happy to continue the treatment or discussion.

Patients were sent surveys 2 weeks after their discharge. From April and September 2025, the average score for the service indicated that 91% would recommend Boston West hospital to family or friends.

The service also collated ‘friends and family’ feedback from April to September 2025 which showed a 6-month average of 99% satisfaction. Staff also gave patients "we value your opinion" cards, which covered areas including care, cleanliness, staff and food. During that same period, the average satisfaction score was 99.1%. The quality improvement team analysed this data. If patients raised any specific concerns, the team followed these up directly with those patients.

A patient told us that they were very impressed with how the service cared for them and said “I’ll go back for the consultation and any further treatment with full confidence. I commend them on their service”.

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

The service had policies to ensure staff cared for patients with additional needs in a way that best met each patients’ needs. Staff could access guidance to promote religious and cultural needs of patients. The service provided leaflets in languages most used by local people in the area. As the service provided ophthalmic care, relevant leaflets were also available in large print or braille.

Patients told us they received care tailored to their needs, and the service involved other agencies to optimise their care. Some patients confirmed they were offered translation services to help ensure them understand their condition and their choices about their care treatment.

Staff had access to patients’ 'hospital passport', which enabled patients to explain their needs and preferences in a simple to use and understand format. This meant the patient received consistent care and only needed to share this information once.

The service had set up an "Ask Listen Do" initiative, with easy-to-use forms for patients with a disability to be able to give real time feedback. We saw posters to remind staff to use these to ask and respond to those patient's individual needs.

Staff worked with partners to ensure they provided individualised care. For example, they worked with independent mental capacity advocates (IMCA). IMCAs are advocates who act for patients who lack capacity to make certain decisions. We saw staff work with carers, social workers and IMCAs to set up a plan to enable the person to be seen and heard and to be able to make their choices, so they received the most appropriate care for them.

The service promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

Staff provided options around treatment and encouraged patients to make the best decisions to suit them and their lifestyle. Patients said they felt they were in control of their care and treatment.

Patients told us they were offered choice around methods of sedation during surgery and pain relief after procedures. One patient had discussions with their consultant about alternatives when pre-operative investigations indicated a need for a different approach. They said they were given the right information and support to make decisions about their ongoing treatment.

Family members and friends were welcome to join consultations and encouraged to provide support for patients making decisions about their treatment. A patient said “my family was invited into discussions with the consultant. And I felt involved with the decisions and next steps in my care”.

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

The service had up to date policies to guide staff in responding to patients with specific needs. Quality improvement audits had identified that in some instances patients in the recovery area were not using their call bell to ask for help in moving around after procedures. This increased the risk of patients falling. The service created the service put up “call don’t fall” posters in those areas to remind patients to use the call bells.

We saw staff regularly chat with patients during and after procedures, to check on their wellbeing and immediate needs. Pain score charts were clearly visible in the recovery area which enabled staff to provide an effective level of medication promptly.

Staff told us they are always considerate of patient’s preferences. Staff worked to resolve complaints and concerns as soon as they were raised by patients as they believed this was the most effective way to resolve issues.

Drinks were available to pre and post operative patients as appropriate and biscuits were offered after their procedures. Hot drinks were available in the reception area and if patients were waiting for a longer period, staff would offer sandwiches.

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

Staff felt valued and supported by local leaders and the wider group management.

They received the right training for their role, and all staff had received an appraisal in the last year. This promoted staff wellbeing and enabled them to provide the best person-centred care for patients.

Some staff described pathways they had followed to progress in their careers, while other staff said they were encouraged to focus on specialist areas of their role.

We saw teams and the wider staffing network work well together, and staff said they felt supported by colleagues. This meant patients received consistent care from staff who were enthusiastic.

Patients told us the staff seemed to get on more like a family than work colleagues. They said they were all happy and friendly, and they saw good interaction between them. The administrative team said they worked closely with their clinical colleagues, which ensured patients were received correct information about appointments, test results and other administrative updates. There was a good ambience in the location which patients noticed and said this gave them confidence in the service.

The service had equal opportunities and diversity policies which helped managers ensure all staff were treated equitably. The service offered flexible working arrangements and staff were pleased with leaders’ altering their shift patterns to better fit their family commitments without reducing their hours. This meant that staff were able to focus on patient care during their working day.

Managers enabled staff to access wellbeing services and assessed staff wellbeing regularly. Staff could access occupational health services and an employee assistance programme. Managers had also supported 2 staff to train as mental health first aiders. This meant that staff could access help with their mental health within the location.

The 2024 staff survey showed 86% of Boston West staff felt engaged, and 89% were satisfied with their wellbeing. Some staff had expressed that their work was not always recognised and were concerned about the stress in their job. Managers subsequently set up activities and reward schemes to improve staff recognition and put in place actions to encourage staff to give feedback to their managers about any staffing issues.

Surgery colleagues at the location told us they felt appreciated for their work and that training and development opportunities were available to everyone. Clinical and administrative staff shared examples of receiving additional support to gain new skills and develop their careers.