Mount Vernon Hospital

Updated 4 June 2025

Mount Vernon Hospital is part of The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is located in Northwood, Hertfordshire. It provides a range of planned surgical and outpatient services, as well as urgent care to the local population and surrounding areas. The hospital specialises in elective day case and short-stay procedures across various specialties, including orthopaedics, general surgery, urology, and breast surgery. The site includes four fully equipped operating theatres and associated recovery areas, supported by pre-operative assessment facilities and outpatient clinics.

In addition to its surgical services, Mount Vernon Hospital hosts an Urgent Care Centre (UCC), providing same-day, walk-in treatment for minor injuries and illnesses. The UCC is nurse-led with general practitioner support, and operates seven days a week, offering an accessible alternative to emergency departments for non-life-threatening conditions.

The hospital works in close partnership with Hillingdon Hospital and other services within the trust to ensure continuity of care and effective coordination across pathways. It also contributes to staff education and development through training placements and collaborative working with local academic institutions.

Updated 24 August 2024

The surgical service at Mount Vernon Hospital demonstrated a clear commitment to delivering high-quality, patient-centred care underpinned by strong governance, skilled leadership, and a collaborative culture of learning and improvement. Staff provided compassionate and respectful care, tailoring treatment plans to individual needs and fostering trust and confidence among patients and their families.

The service maintained robust safety systems, proactive incident reporting, and effective infection prevention and control measures. Leadership was visible and inclusive, supporting staff development and prioritising equality and diversity.

Innovation and personalised care were central to the service’s strengths, with patient-centred initiatives driving positive outcomes.

Updated 24 August 2024

Date of assessment 23 to 24 September 2024. This assessment looked at Urgent Care Centre (UCC) which we rated as good.

The rating of Mount Vernon Hospital UCC has improved. In our assessment of UCC we found safety was a priority for everyone and leaders embedded a culture of openness and collaboration. People were protected from harm, abuse and discrimination. When people raised concerns about safety and ideas to improve, the primary response was to learn and improve continuously. Services were planned and organised with people and the wider health system in a way that improved the patient care journey. Leaders ensured there were enough skilled people to deliver safe care that promoted choice, control and individual wellbeing.

Updated 11 February 2015

Although patient feedback and outcomes were mainly positive, there were concerns with staffing skill-mix and staffing levels for both nursing and medical staff. Staff were not trained appropriately in most areas and the environment presented risks to patient safety.

Patients’ individual needs were not always met. However, the leadership was aware of the risks on the wards and the risks were being managed and mitigated.

There was a positive staff culture and vision on wards that had not been open for very long.

Updated 11 February 2015

Staff consistently reported incidents using the trust’s incident reporting system. We saw evidence that staff learned from trends in incident reporting and learning was fed back to all staff groups within the department.

We found that letters to GPs were not being sent within the five-day period in line with trust policy.

Follow-up appointments were not being given to patients in a timely manner in the renal service.

Staff adhered to policies and procedures on infection prevention and control. Equipment was maintained and available where needed. Medicines had been stored and prescribed in a way that complied with relevant legislation.

Records were stored securely and were mostly available when required. There had been an issue with the availability of health records for a short while during the relocation of medical record storage, these incidents had decreased. Staff had received mandatory training in line with the trust’s policy.

Staff were able to demonstrate a good understanding of safeguarding procedures.

Clinics were adequately staffed through staff goodwill and willingness to work extra hours.