The Care Quality Commission
  • Hospital
  • Independent hospital

Spire Little Aston Hospital

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Little Aston Hall Drive, Little Aston, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, B74 3UP (0121) 353 2444

Provided and run by:
Spire Healthcare Limited

All Inspections

During an assessment of Diagnostic and screening services

Our onsite assessment was undertaken on 21 July 2026 and was unannounced Diagnostic imaging services provided at this location included: Xrays, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Computed tomography (CT) scanning, mammography, ultrasound and fluoroscopy. The service accepted referrals from a consultant for both private and NHS patients.

Between 1 June 2025 and 30 June 2026 there were 26994 diagnostic tests undertaken at Spire Little Aston Hospital.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we ask the same five questions of all services: are they safe, effective, caring, responsive to people's needs, and well-led? Where we have a legal duty to do so we rate services’ performance against each key question as outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate. Throughout the inspection, we took account of what people told us and how the provider understood and complied with the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

This is the first comprehensive assessment of diagnostics (it was previously assessed as part of the outpatients core service in June 2019 and was rated good). This was an assessment of Diagnostics only.

The quality of care and treatment of children aged between 16 and 18 years of age undergoing diagnostic imaging procedures was not reviewed as part of the assessment of diagnostic imaging.

During an assessment of the hospital overall

Spire Healthcare Limited operates Spire Little Aston Hospital. The hospital has a 27 bedded surgical ward, an eight bedded day case unit and a chemotherapy suite with four chairs and two private rooms. The services are available to insured and self-funding people. The hospital also provides treatment for adult NHS patients; there are three advanced theatres equipped with laminar flow systems and a minor operations theatre including endoscopy services, outpatient facilities (Monday- Saturday), and full on‑site diagnostics (magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) , computed tomography (CT), ultrasound, X‑ray, fluoroscopy, mammography) in addition to a xray department. The site hosts several specialist services including a Mako robotic orthopaedic centre, BSGE‑accredited endometriosis centre, Spire Eye Centre, and on‑site rehabilitation services. The hospital provides surgery, outpatient services and limited diagnostic tests for children and young people.

The hospital registered manager has been in post since 2020 but was working in another interim role at the time of our assessment.

The service is registered to provide the following regulated activities:

  • Treatment of Disease, Disorder or Injury.
  • Diagnostic Imaging Services.
  • Surgical procedures.
  • Family planning
  • Services in slimming clinics

The last published inspection report included surgery, medicine and outpatients in 2019 and rated the services and the hospital as good. We inspected Surgery and out patients in May and June 2026, this report has not yet been published. We inspected the service as it had not been inspected since 2019 and as such had an aged rating We inspected this service using our comprehensive assessment methodology.

The hospital did see a small number of children in the outpatients and diagnostic departments. Children aged between 16 and 18 can have surgery at Spire Little Aston Hospital but only if they were assessed to have the capacity to understand and provide informed consent to the surgery.

Our onsite assessment of diagnostic services was undertaken on 21 July 2026.

During an assessment of Outpatients

We assessed all quality statements across the safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led key questions and have combined the scores for these areas to give an overall rating. The outpatient department was rated Good overall.

Safe:

The service had a good learning culture where staff and patients could raise concerns. Managers investigated incidents thoroughly and lessons learned and improvements were identified and shared with staff. Patients were protected and kept safe because staff understood local safeguarding arrangements and safe systems of working. 

There were enough staff with the right skills, qualifications, and experience to ensure high-quality care and treatment. Managers made sure staff received training and had regular appraisals to maintain high-quality care.

Staff managed medicines safely. Staff identified and reacted to unexpected deterioration in a patient’s condition. Staff understood and managed risks from the environment. The facilities and equipment met the needs of patients, were clean and well-maintained and any risks were mitigated.

Effective:

Patients, and where appropriate those close to them, were involved in assessments of their needs. Staff reviewed assessments taking account of patient’s physical emotional, communication and personal care needs. Care and treatment was based on latest evidence and good practice guidance. Patient outcomes met expectations, and harm free care was the norm.

Staff made sure patients understood their care and treatment to enable them to give informed consent.

Caring:

Staff treated patients with kindness and compassion. Staff protected their privacy and dignity. They treated patients as individuals and supported their preferences. Staff responded to patients in a timely way. Patients had the opportunity to ask questions and were given access to specialist services, including allied health professionals.

Responsive:

Patients, or their representatives, were involved in decisions about their care and treatment. The service provided information which patients could understand. Patients were invited to give feedback, knew who to speak with if they had concerns and were confident the service took their concerns seriously.

The service monitored and worked to improve access. The environment was adjusted to meet the needs of people with conditions which could create a barrier to access.

The service worked to reduce health and care inequalities through service planning, quality monitoring, staff training, and feedback. Patients were involved in planning their care and understood options around choosing to withdraw or not receive care.

The service supported staff wellbeing.

Well-led:

Leaders and staff knew the service’s local vision, aims and objectives and understood how their service aligned with this. There was a culture based on speaking up, listening, learning and trust.

Leaders were visible, knowledgeable, and supportive, helping staff develop in their roles. Staff felt supported to give feedback and were treated equally, free from bullying or harassment.

Staff understood their roles and responsibilities. Leaders had sound oversight of the quality of service being delivered through effective governance and risk management systems. There was a culture of continuous improvement with staff able to contribute ideas through a quality improvement programme.

During an assessment of Surgery

The main activity of the hospital was surgery. There were 2 wards: Wyndley ward had 27 beds and accommodated overnight patients and Bracebridge ward had 8 beds which were used for day case surgical patients when required. Between May 2025 and April 2026 there were 6925 patient surgical operations at Spire Little Aston Hospital. Children aged between 16 and 18 can have surgery at Spire Little Aston Hospital but only if they were assessed to have the capacity to understand and provide informed consent to the surgery. The quality of care and treatment of children aged between 16 and 18 years of age undergoing surgical procedures was not reviewed as part of the assessment of surgery.

The hospital provided a wide range of surgical specialties, including:

Breast surgery

Ear nose and throat

Gastroenterology

General surgery

Gynaecology and Obstetrics

Neurology

Ophthalmology

Oral Surgery

Orthopaedics (spine)

Orthopaedics surgery

Pain management

Plastic surgery

Podiatry

Urology.

The hospital registered manager had been in post since 2020 but was undertaking an interim role in another service at the time of our assessment.

The service is registered to provide the following regulated activities:

  • Treatment of Disease, Disorder or Injury.
  • Diagnostic Imaging Services.
  • Surgical procedures.
  • Family planning
  • Services in slimming clinics

During an assessment of the hospital overall

The date of the assessment was the 26 and 27 May and the 17 June 2026. The reason for the assessment was an aged rating. Spire Little Aston Hospital is a private hospital that provides a comprehensive range of care including outpatients, diagnostic, inpatient, and surgical services and is located in Sutton Coldfield. The hospital provides services for both children and adults. The services were available to insured and self-funding people as well as NHS patients. There are 3 advanced theatres equipped with laminar flow systems and a minor operations theatre including endoscopy services. There are 15 outpatient consulting rooms along with an imaging department with magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, Ultrasound, Digital Mammography, Fluoroscopy, and X Ray. They also have outpatient and inpatient physiotherapy, the Spire Eye centre, an onsite pathology lab, on site radiotherapy services with and a care centre for oncology. The facility had 32 patient bedrooms equipped with on suite facilities. Parking was free to all patients, consultants, and visitors. The consultants practicing at Spire Little Aston Hospital covered many specialities including breast surgery, orthopaedic surgery, and urology. The last CQC inspection was in June 2019 when it was rated Good overall.

We assessed all quality statements across the safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led key questions and have combined the scores for these areas to give an overall rating. We only rated surgery and outpatients on this inspection so we combined the hospitals previous ratings for other services they provide. The overall hospital was rated Good overall.

11-12 June 2019

During a routine inspection

Spire Little Aston Hospital is operated by Spire Healthcare Limited. The hospital has a 24 bedded surgical ward and a separate two bedded extended recovery unit, an eight bedded day case unit and a chemotherapy suite with four chairs and two private rooms. Facilities include one endoscopy theatre and three laminar flow operating theatres and X-ray, outpatient and diagnostic facilities.

The hospital provides surgery, medical care, outpatient services for children and young people, and outpatients and diagnostic imaging. We inspected surgery, medicine and outpatients.

We inspected this service using our comprehensive inspection methodology. We carried out the inspection from 11-12 June 2019

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we ask the same five questions of all services: are they safe, effective, caring, responsive to people's needs, and well-led? Where we have a legal duty to do so we rate services’ performance against each key question as outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate.

Throughout the inspection, we took account of what people told us and how the provider understood and complied with the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

The main service provided by this hospital was surgery. Where our findings on surgery – for example, management arrangements – also apply to other services, we do not repeat the information but cross-refer to the surgery service level.

Services we rate

Our rating of this service stayed the same. We rated it as Good overall.

  • The service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well. The service controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. They managed medicines well. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them. Staff collected safety information and used it to improve the service.

  • Staff provided good care and treatment, gave patients enough to eat and drink, and gave them pain relief when they needed it. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, advised them on how to lead healthier lives, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information.

  • Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to patients, families and carers.

  • The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of patients’ individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait too long for treatment.

  • Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff understood the service’s vision and values, and how to apply them in their work.Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with patients and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

    However:

    Outpatients:

  • The audio consulting room in outpatients was very small and cramped. It would not easily accommodate a patient using a wheel chair safely together with one other person beside the consultant.

  • The outpatient service did not have in place an audit programme of patient records to assure continued good quality of records and records management.

  • Front line outpatient staff were not active in encouraging patients and visitors to cleanse their hands.

  • The hospitals policy for its Cognitive Impairment Adult Framework was incomplete and did not include ‘the outpatient phase’ as indicated was intended by the contents page.

  • There were insufficient patient toilets for outpatient services demand and some degree of privacy was compromised by their location.

Endoscopy:

  • There was an inconsistent approach to decontamination and hand hygiene within the endoscopy unit.

  • Two sharps boxes were not assembled correctly.

Chemotherapy Suite:

  • Room 63 in the chemotherapy suite needed updating to be fully compliant with HBN 00/10- part A (flooring).

Following this inspection, we told the provider that it should make improvements, even though a regulation had not been breached, to help the service improve. Details are at the end of the report.

Heidi Smoult

Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals



22 July 2015

During a routine inspection

Spire Little Aston Hospital, part of Spire Healthcare, offers comprehensive private hospital treatments, procedures, tests and scans to patients from Sutton Coldfield and surrounding areas. The hospital offers a range of surgical procedures, cancer care, rapid access to assessment and investigation and a physiotherapy service. The hospital did not provide children’s in patient or day case surgery

Patients are admitted for elective surgery, attend as a day case or for outpatient care. There are no emergency admissions.

Services are available to people who held private insurance or to those paying for one-off private treatment. Fixed prices, agreed in advance, are available. The hospital also offers services to NHS patients on behalf of the NHS through local contractual agreements and 39% of its activity was NHS funded care.

 Facilities include an Inpatient ward with 24 private rooms with ensuite facilities, a   Day Care Ward with 8 private rooms with ensuite facilities, a two bedded High Dependency Unit, a Chemotherapy Suite consisting of a 4 chair day care room and two private rooms with ensuite facilities and a Endoscopy Suite consisting of a 4 bay recovery area. There are 3 theatres all with laminar flow, 2 minor procedure theatres and an Endoscopy procedure.

Prior to the CQC on-site inspection, the CQC considered a range of quality indicators captured through our monitoring processes. In addition, we sought the views of a range partners and stakeholders. A key element of this comprised the focus groups with healthcare professionals and feedback from the public.

The inspection team make an evidence based judgment on five domains to ascertain if services were:

• Safe

• Effective

• Caring

• Responsive

• Well-led.

Our key findings were as follows:

Spire Little Aston Hospital was selected for a comprehensive inspection as part of the independent healthcare inspection programme. The inspection was conducted using the Care Quality Commission’s new inspection methodology.

The inspection team included CQC inspectors, doctors, nurses, experts by experience and senior managers with experience of working in the Independent Healthcare sector. The inspection took place on 22 July 2015, with an unannounced visit on 5 August 2015.

The inspection team looked at the following core services: Surgery, High Dependency unit, outpatient and diagnostic imaging services.

30 October 2013

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We visited Spire Little Aston Hospital to look at the progress since the last inspection when non-compliance was identified in five outcomes. The inspection was unannounced which meant that the manager and staff did not know we were visiting.

We met and spoke with the hospital director and matron, the acting theatre manager, the deputy theatre manager, seven staff and one anaesthetist.

We looked at records relating to the previous non-compliance, which were overall much improved. We observed the preparation for a theatre list and sat in on the theatre list team brief.

We saw that not all medical staff complied with the 'no jewellery' policy. However, we saw that theatre staff appropriately challenged medical staff to follow the protocol for pre list team briefing. Staff told us that they felt supported to do this by the acting theatre manager.

We saw that theatre etiquette and practice had improved; although we are concerned about the continuity of staff support with further planned changes to the theatre structure. The improvements made so far will continue to be monitored by CQC to ensure that they are sustained.

12 March 2013

During an inspection in response to concerns

In this report the name of a registered manager appears who was not in post and not managing the regulatory activities at this location at the time of the inspection. Their name appears because they were still a Registered Manager on our register at the time.

We visited Spire Little Aston on Tuesday, 12 March 2013. We did not tell them that we were going to visit. We met with the matron, acting theatre manager, theatre co-ordinator, risk and clinical governance manager and seven staff who worked in the theatre department. We conducted this visit as concerns had been raised with us regarding the theatre department.

We observed some theatre practices that did not maintain people's privacy and dignity. Other practises compromised the safety of people, due to risk of spread of infection or not completing relevant checks. We discussed these issues with the acting theatre manager and the matron.

We looked at records to see if staff were supported in their role. We could not find sufficient evidence to demonstrate that this was the case. Staff reported that they worked excessive hours, received no appraisal and were reluctant to raise concerns as they feared repercussions. We could not find any evidence to demonstrate that some staff had been assessed as competent to perform their role. Staff told us that they did not feel competent to complete all tasks required of them.

We were told that there was no information regarding agency staff working in the department.

15, 31 October and 13 November 2012

During a routine inspection

We visited Spire Little Aston as anonymous concerns had been raised. We met with the newly appointed theatre manager, theatre co-ordinator, matron and other staff who worked at the hospital. We saw that some of the anonymous issues raised had already been identified and acted upon by the service. Other issues were in the process of being addressed and some were unfounded. We spoke with people who had recently undergone a surgical procedure to find out their views of the service provided at Spire and they told us, "The staff are brilliant"; "The care is good". We visited the theatre department and spoke with staff and observed some of the theatre safety checks.

We saw paperwork which demonstrated that all treatment options were discussed. People were given sufficient information to enable them to make a decision about their care. We saw that written consent was obtained before any treatment was completed.

A pharmacist inspector visited to look at the safe management of medicines including controlled drugs (CDs). We spoke with a pharmacist and a pharmacy technician about the support given to clinical wards and theatre departments. We found that CDs were handled and managed safely within theatres. However some theatre Operating Department Practice staff had not received training in order to manage all aspects of CDs. We were told that this training was planned to take place shortly.