Spire Norwich Hospital

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

This means we looked for evidence that the service involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

We looked for evidence that patients were treated with kindness, empathy and compassion. We assessed the levels of patient’s 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 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.

Patients said staff treated them well and with kindness.

Staff followed policy to keep patient care and treatment confidential. We observed kind and compassionate care on the ward and in theatres by a range of staff. For example, by a physiotherapist supporting a patient during a procedure and a ward clerk being kind and explain the admission process to a patient who had just arrived. Also, theatre staff were kind and compassionate to patients receiving post-operative care.

In the latest Friends and Family test for part of 2025 as a measure of patient satisfaction the score was 98% with 86% of patients likely to use the hospital again.

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 patient’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

We observed that staff treated patients as individuals and adapted their approach to meet each person's needs.

Staff understood and respected the personal, cultural, social, and religious needs of patients and how they may relate to care needs. For example, we observed a prayer room available for staff, patients and visitors. Also, patients undergoing breast surgery were reviewed by a nurse specialist and psychological support was provided if required.

Feedback was gathered through patient surveys and concerns were responded to. We reviewed 5 care plans and saw these were tailored to individual needs and circumstances. In the patient survey data for part of 2025 62% of patients strongly agreed that they “felt truly valued as an individual” and 31% said they agreed with this statement i.e. 93% in total.

Staff had training in equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging as well as dementia and autism awareness which formed part of the mandatory training programme. This supported staff to provide care that was person centred, inclusive and responsive to individual needs.

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

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. The physiotherapy and occupational therapy teams had developed a tool to demonstrate the levels of a patient’s independence in terms of their mobility status.

We also saw a patient information noticeboard that promoted the “accessible information standard”. This aims to make sure that people who have a disability, impairment or sensory loss are given information they can easily read or understand.

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

In the patient survey for part of 2025, 93% of patients either strongly agreed or agreed that they felt fully informed about their care and treatment.

Patients could summon staff with a call bell and staff frequently went to assess their needs. Staff observed patients and intervened where they saw people were uncomfortable, or distressed. People appeared well cared for, clean and with the items they needed. Staff encouraged people, where able, to eat and drink sufficient to maintain health.

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

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 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 did not always care about and promote the wellbeing of their staff. They did not always support or enable staff to deliver person-centred care.

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

Staff were able to provide feedback, raise concerns and suggest ways to improve the service or staff experiences and could expect a response.

The 2025 hospital staff survey wellbeing results were low for theatre staff, 43%, and 54% for ward staff although other results such as “Trust in manager” were higher with 68% for theatre staff and 77% for ward staff. Psychological safety was only 35% for theatre staff and 87% for pre-assessment staff. We were informed by leaders that there had been several challenges for the hospital during this time and they were working on strategies to improve staff wellbeing by improving staff engagement.

In a CQC staff survey carried out after the inspection overall 74% hospital staff said they either strongly or somewhat agreed that the organisation places a strong emphasis on the health and wellbeing of staff. For surgery staff only 45% either strongly or somewhat agreed with this statement.

Also, 79% of staff overall, and 80% surgery staff, felt they strongly or somewhat agreed that all staff were treated fairly and equality and diversity were actively promoted.

Staff had access to personalised support which recognised the diversity of a workforce with proactive and reactive measures. The service had introduced an inclusive changing area, separate changing facilities for male and female colleagues and a prayer room. The organisation had several methods to recognise and reward staff. Over the last year 3 “above and beyond” awards had been made to pre-operative assessment and theatres staff as well as numerous excellence awards and inspiring people awards.