Updated
17 September 2025
Broomfield Hospital is operated by Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust. The Trust was formed on 1st April 2020 following the acquisition of Mid Essex Hospitals Services NHS Trust and Basildon and Thurrock University Hospital Trust by Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. It is one of the largest hospital trusts in England, serving a population of over 1.2 million people in Central and South Essex.
We carried out an assessment of Emergency and Urgent Care on 25th November 2024, with a focus on Children’s Emergency Department. This service was assesses but not rated.
We carried out an assessment of Children and Young People Services at Broomfield hospital on the 25th November 2024. This was our first assessment of this service and following our assessment the services rating overall was inadequate.
Following our assessment of Children and Young People Services the concerns raised demonstrate a breach of Regulation 12 of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 and Regulation 17 of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. The service was issued with a Warning Notice under section 29A of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 under Regulation 17 there is a need for the service to demonstrate significant improvements in good governance and quality of health care.
Services for children & young people
Updated
12 November 2024
On the 25th of November 2024 we carried out a comprehensive assessment of Children and Young People services at Broomfield Hospital. This was a responsive assessment in relation to potential specific incidents and ongoing concerns over the safety of children and young people receiving care at the hospital. This was the first time the service has been assessed, and it was rated Inadequate overall.
During our assessment we spoke to staff, children, young people and their families using the service. People we spoke to told us staff did their best in a busy service to provide care. People were not always provided with information and at times the support for children and young people was not always tailored to their needs.
Staff did not always have effective support from leaders and skills to deliver safe care. Demands on the service were high, and leaders did not always take timely action to mitigate risk to children and young people using the service. The service was made safer by the good will of staff, often having no breaks and working late. There were systemic cultural issues where staff did not always feel listened to or feel safe to speak up in fear of being targeted or bullied.
As part of our assessment, we requested additional data and information. Some evidence was not provided or available. Due to information gaps we were not assured leaders had good oversight of care delivery and risk management.
Following our assessment the concerns raised demonstrate a breach of Regulation 12 of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 and Regulation 17 of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. We served a Section 29A Warning Notice for Regulation 17 outlining the breaches and that we required the service to make improvements.
Urgent and emergency services
Updated
12 November 2024
On the 25th of November 2024 we carried out a responsive focused assessment of paediatric emergency department (PED) at Broomfield Hospital. The assessment was prompted in part by notifications of adverse incidents, which are subject to further investigation by CQC as to whether any regulatory action should be taken. As a result, this assessment did not examine the circumstances of the incidents. However, the information shared with CQC about the incidents indicated potential concerns about the quality and safety of the service. This assessment examined those concerns. We inspected 6 quality statements across the safe, responsive and well-led key questions. We have not previously rated this service. This assessment did not cover all parts of our assessment framework; therefore, we did not rate the service, and we have only given scores for those areas which we have assessed. We will carry out future assessments to cover other parts of the framework and will update our website with our findings. We found 2 breaches of the legal regulations in relation to safe care and treatment and governance. Our assessment found:
The management of risks to people across their care journey was not always effective. Staff told us that the high level of demand within the department and staffing shortages impacted on their ability to maintain oversight of the patients in the department and to manage risk effectively. There was limited evidence that the service actively sought out, listened to and responded to information about children and young people who were most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes. The service did not always have effective governance arrangements in place. Staff did not act on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, or share this securely with others when appropriate.
In instances where CQC have decided to take civil or criminal enforcement action against a provider, we will publish this information on our website after any representations and/ or appeals have been concluded.
We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to concerns found at this assessment.
Updated
5 January 2025
Broomfield Hospital maternity unit provides both consultant-led and midwife-led maternity services as part of Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation trust. The obstetric unit at Broomfield Hospital is a purpose-built unit located on the 4th floor of the hospital. The unit comprises of a Day Assessment Unit (DAU), a consultant-led labour ward, a midwife-led low risk birthing unit and a post-natal ward which includes a 4 bedded bay used for the transitional care of babies. Outpatient services include antenatal clinics and an ultrasound department. There is no separate antenatal ward; patients who are seen and/or admitted during the antenatal period are accommodated on the DAU. The consultant-led (high risk) labour ward comprises a 11 bedded delivery suite, 1 berevement room, 2 operating theatres, a 4 bedded recovery area where women are cared for following surgical procedures relating to childbirth, and bereavement suite. Postnatal care is provided on a 20 bedded ward with 8 individual rooms and 3, 4 bedded bays, one of which is used to provide transitional care to babies requiring additional support but not requiring neonatal unit admission. We had carried out an assessment in March 2024 where the service was rated inadequate overall and were placed under conditions of service under Section 31 of the Health and Social Care Act to ensure the trust took immediate action to keep women, birthing people, and babies safe. This follow up assessment took place on 24th and 25th of July 2024 and was focused on the key questions of Safe, Caring, and Well-led. Whilst improvements have been demonstrated they need to be embedded and sustained. Therefore, the conditions remain in place for Broomfield Hospital maternity services.
Medical care (including older people’s care)
Updated
27 October 2023