The New Victoria 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

At our last assessment, we rated this key question as Good. At this assessment, we have rated this assessment as Good because the service worked with patients to understand and manage risks.

Care met patients’ needs in a way which was safe, supportive and was tailored to their individuals needs and enabled them to do things that mattered to them.

We observed patients and staff interactions in both the Day Unit and Alexandra Ward and patients’ dignity and privacy were respected.

When patients and family members communicated their needs, emotions and distress, staffs managed raised concerns positively and in a way that protected patients’ rights, dignity and maximised learning for future management.

We looked for evidence that patients were treated kindly, with empathy and compassion. We observed staffs delivering compassionate care to patients and patients we spoke to, including patients who underwent gender affirmation surgery, were positive about the care they received. We also asked patients to tell us about their experiences, pre- and post-surgery, if they were respected and if they understood that their treatment and how they were supported mattered. We also looked for evidence that every effort was made to take patients’ wishes into account and respect their choices, to achieve the best possible outcome.

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.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. The service always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity.

Staff treated patients with compassion, kindness and respected patients’ privacy and dignity. Patients reported that their individual needs were considered. We spoke with a patient who underwent gender affirmation procedures, who reported that staff were kind, polite and considerate.

The interactions we observed between staff and patients were very reassuring. Staff introduced themselves, took the time to answer questions that both patients and family members were asking in a considerate way.

We observed a patient’s journey from their arrival in the Day Unit to theatre. Staff patiently explained all the procedures and in the anaesthetic room, staff responded to patient’s anxiety, concerns and were reassuring throughout.

Staff followed policy to keep patient’s care and treatment confidential. When staff were taking personal information both in the Day Unit and Alexandra Ward, they did so in a manner that maintained confidentiality. They kept their voices very low, especially when discussing personal information in the communal area. However, staff reported that some consultants left patients’ files unattended, meaning they could be accessed by unauthorised people. We raised this concern with the nurse in charge.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. 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.

Staff understood and respected the personal, cultural needs of patients and how they may relate to care needs. For example, some patients and their relatives told us that staff took the time to discuss their needs and supports available, including their dietary requirements. Feedback was gathered through patient surveys and concerns were responded to. In February 2026, 100% of inpatient patients reported that were likely to recommend the service.

Overall, patient’s feedback and experience were very positive. One patient reported that: ‘As someone who is transgender and having genital surgery, I felt like I was respected fully and given the best care’. The entire day/night nursing staff were incredible. By far the best care I ever received at a hospital. Exemplary’.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. The service promoted patient’s independence, so patient knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

We saw patients being encouraged to be independent as soon as they were able to, following surgery. This included becoming mobile and being able to move around the ward area, toilets and bathrooms. Physiotherapist provided exercise routines when needed and supported patients to learn new ways of moving, so that they could be out of bed as soon as possible.

In Alexandra Ward, we observed a post-surgery patient exercising with a physiotherapist. The communication with the patient, while they were walking around, was encouraging and the physiotherapist was praising every step taken by the patient while ensuring that the patient remained properly covered.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. 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.

Patients could summon staff with a call bell and staff frequently went to their rooms to assess needs. Staff observed patients and intervened where they saw that people were uncomfortable, uncovered or distressed. We observed a staff member interacting with a patient receiving post operative care. They reassured the patient, answered every question and constantly enquired about the patient’s level of pain and if they required pain relief medications. We asked the family member whether the care we observed was a daily occurrence and they confirmed that it was the way the patient was care for daily.

Patients were well cared for, clean and with the items they needed such as walking frame. Staff encouraged people, where able, to eat and drink sufficiently to maintain their health. There was a good selection on the food menu and patients reported that overall, the food was ‘tasty’.

There were call bells sited close to each bed to ensure patients could call for additional support and expert help could be summoned quickly. However, a patient told us that agency staff were not as responsive to the call bells as regular staff. They told us that they had to wait for about an hour for the staff to arrive and for the requested linen to be provided.

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. Patients and relatives told us that staff were never in a rush when providing care, they were very patient and answered all the questions they asked.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. The service cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.

Staff had access to resources and facilities for safe working. This included being able to take breaks, provision of designated rest areas for duty doctors, drinks and food out of hours and drinking water.

Staff were able to provide feedback, raise concerns and suggest ways to improve the service and could expect a response. We reviewed the response to feedback data(You said..We did…), and staff told us that the leadership responded to their raised concerns. For example, staff expressed that they wanted more clarity on ways to access career development opportunities. The leadership team responded by taking actions such as beginning some work with the BUPA apprenticeship team to bring apprenticeship opportunities to New Victoria Hospital staff or exploring opportunities for staff to work across other BUPA sites within the London campus. The gender clinical nurse specialists we spoke to told us that when they expressed their interest to specialise in gender affirming surgery patient care, the service offered them the opportunity and supported their development in the field. Other staff we spoke to also reported that management was very supportive in their development journey.

We observed a good team cohesion and staff did not look overworked and stressed We observed good level of communication and mutual support and felt valued by their leaders and colleague. Staff told us that they were an integral part of the multidisciplinary team and working at New Victoria Hospital felt like being part of ‘a family’. Staff told us they felt supported by management who was visible, available and accessible, especially during the time of management and leadership change which was time of uncertainties, and they felt confident to raise concerns directly with management. Staff who have been employed for several years told us that they were fully supported during time when the service was transitioning to the new management. They said that in addition to the reassurance and support provided by their managers, staff had access to personalised support which recognised the diversity of a workforce with proactive and reactive such as the Employee Assisted Programme.

Staff felt valued by their leaders and colleagues, and we saw evidence of their reward and recognition scheme.

Staff had opportunities to contribute to service development through the Employee Engagement Pulse Survey and providing system feedback. A staff member was the champion for collating staff feedback and proving system use support to the nursing team following the launch of the new IT system in April 2026. They told us that the service provided protected time to ensure sure that they attend training and support colleagues.

Overall, patients and staff highly rated the service and praised the supportive nature of care and efficient support provided by the service.