- NHS hospital
Frimley Park Hospital
Report from 31 January 2025 assessment
Contents
Ratings - Medical care (Including older people's care)
Our view of the service
On Tuesday 4 and Wednesday 5 February 2025 we carried out an inspection at Frimley Park Hospital. This inspection was part of our System Pathway Pressures programme where we inspected Medical Care and the Emergency Department (ED). This report relates to the medical directorate at Frimley Park Hospital. The medical directorate consists of around 17 wards and departments. We went to most of these areas. We spoke with 15 patients and two relatives/carers.
We reviewed seven adult patient records. We spoke with more than 50 staff which included: consultants, resident doctors, nurses, senior leaders, healthcare assistants, administration staff, housekeeping staff and volunteers.
We assessed 24 quality statements across the safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led key questions and we have combined the scores for these areas with scores from the last inspection to give the rating.
The service had a proactive and positive culture of safety, based on openness and honesty. They listened to concerns about safety and investigated and reported safety events. Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice. There were sufficient staff who listened to people's safety and individual needs. Systems and processes were in place to review the safety of care provided.
When the hospital was busy, leaders reviewed staffing levels to meet the needs of their patients. Staff delivered good care and treatment following evidence-based practice and people had good outcomes. The service monitored care outcomes and sought to improve, even when meeting national benchmarks.
The service was exceptional at treating people with kindness, empathy and compassion and in how they respected people's privacy and dignity. Staff always treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect. The service was exceptional in how they listened to and understood people's needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to people's needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress. The service always cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and was exceptional at supporting and enabling staff to always deliver person-centred care.
People could access care and treatment when they needed it in a variety of ways. The service supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs. The service was aware of system pressures and sought to develop services that met the changing needs of patients.
The department and staff were well-led by strong leaders who embodied the cultures and values of their workforce. There was improved governance and risk management, and a positive culture. The service worked well with others in the Integrated Care Board to meet the needs of people. They empowered staff to lead change and improve the quality of service to patients.
People's experience of this service
Patients and any family or carers with them were all positive about the staff treating them with warmth and kindness and providing effective care and treatment. Patients felt staff were on hand if they needed them for help or support. People said they did not feel anxious about raising concerns. We saw this in the numbers of people who contacted Calls 4 Concern. Most patients said communication with them was good, but some people said they would have appreciated more information more often.