HCA Healthcare UK The Harborne Hospital

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

We looked for evidence that people and communities were always at the centre of how care was planned and delivered. We checked that the health and care needs of people and communities were understood, and they were actively involved in planning care that met these needs. We also looked for evidence that people could access care in ways that met their personal circumstances and protected equality characteristics.

This is the first assessment for this service. This key question has been rated good. This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

We have not awarded this service a score for Responsive.

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

The service was exceptional at making sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs. This commenced in the outpatient department when treatment options were discussed and agreed with the patient and the consultant.

Patients who used services were involved in planning and making shared decisions about their care and treatment, so it is centred around them and their needs.

Staff provided person-centred care which considered the individual needs of the person. The hospital was fully accessible to patients with limited mobility and wheelchair users. There were lifts to all floors and wheelchairs available if required.

Patients’ communication needs were assessed and met to maximise the effectiveness of their care and treatment. Translation services were available for people whose first language was not English. Staff knew how to access this service and told us that the service could be accessed by phone or on teams chat lines. Staff who were bilingual were also used as interpreters as required.

Staff monitored patients’ personal needs including, mobility, pain and dietary requirements. The patient records we reviewed showed daily documentation from nursing and medical staff about ward rounds, test results, patients’ progress and discussions with relatives. Consultants responsible for the patients overall care would visit at least once a day. All records included details of treatment plans and daily consultant review.

The service had a good understanding of the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.

The senior leadership team had opened the hospital by targeting a small number of specialities for which they felt there was a lack of provision in the local area. They recruited specialists in these fields to provide good care, treatment and support to patients. The hospital worked with third parties to support the internal service offering and in general this worked well.

Patients’ care and treatment was delivered in a way that met their assessed needs from services that were co-ordinated and responsive. Patients were admitted to the unit in a timely manner. Most admissions were planned. Patient were appropriately discharged to a ward with all staff in agreement to the transfer and a robust handover process was in place to ensure continuity of care and treatment.

Staff understood patients’ personal, cultural and religious needs. Care was provided in line with national guidelines for the provision of intensive care services. Multidisciplinary teams worked together to ensure treatment was coordinated and joined up.

The service supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

The service had appropriate, accurate and up to date information in formats that were tailored to the needs of their patients. Staff had access to an online platform which could produce most patient information leaflets. Patients were given information at outpatients and preoperative assessment clinics.

Translation services were available for people whose first language was not English. Staff knew how to access this service and told us that the service could be accessed by phone or on teams chat lines.

The service made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. Staff involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result.

Patients knew how to give feedback about their experiences of care and support including how to raise any concerns or issues.

There was a corporate complaints policy and staff could access this online. Complaints were discussed at the daily operations meeting and daily staff huddles. There had been 2 complaints raised by patients in ICU in the last 12 months. The matron met with families to discuss their complaint. Lessons learnt included to improve communication and documentation.

The service made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

Patients could expect their care, treatment and support to be accessible and timely. It was delivered in line with best practice, quality standards and legal requirements.

Between January and July 2025, 160 patients were admitted to the ICU. Predominately patient care was enhanced care level 1.5, with few patients requiring level 2 and level 3 support.

Between April and September 2025, there had been 4 patients returned to theatre, themes included post operative bleeding. All patients had returned to theatre in a timely manner. There had been some unplanned admission to ICU from the ward mainly for increased observations for 24-48 hours. There had been 1 death recorded when a patients condition had deteriorated following surgery. Patients had always been able to access theatre and ICU when required.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this.

The service had processes and policies in place which ensured patients were treated in line with requirements under the NHS constitution and legal and human rights. Staff told us reasonable adjustments were made when required. The processes in place ensured that patients were not discriminated against and ensured that care and treatment was equitable for all.

All staff were committed to ensuring equitable access, outcomes, and experiences for all patients, including those with learning disabilities (LD), autism, dementia, and mental health needs. This commitment was embedded in the mission statement of the hospital to provide care that is unique and individual. This was supported in several ways including, hospital patient passports used to capture essential information about a patients needs, reasonable adjustments such as extended appointment times and quiet areas, a flagging system on the electronic system to ensure that all staff were aware of any reasonable adjustments necessary, initiatives to reduce overmedication of people with a learning disability and autism. These initiatives were supported with Makaton signs in reception, Hearing Loop systems, access to language line and two multifaith prayer rooms.

Staff completed Oliver MacGowan training to support people who were vulnerable. Staff received appropriate training in equality, diversity, inclusion and human rights.

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life.

Patients were supported to make informed choices about their care and surgery. Patients we spoke with felt the information they were given was clear and accurate and provided in a way they could understand. Patients were supported to make informed choices about their care and plan for the future. Patients all had personalised care and treatment plans to suit their needs.