Warwick 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

We looked for evidence that people were always treated with kindness, empathy and compassion. We checked that people’s privacy and dignity were respected and people understood their experience of how they were treated and supported mattered. We also looked for evidence that every effort was made to take people’s wishes into account and respect their choices, to achieve the best possible outcomes for them.

People received care and support that was compassionate and kind. Staff cared for individuals and each other and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff demonstrated genuine empathy for the people they cared for.

Staff had a strong understanding of people’s human rights to dignity and respect and were able to uphold these rights. There was a culture of kindness and respect between colleagues and a strong sense of protecting health and wellbeing of staff.

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.

People were valued as individuals. They were treated with kindness, empathy and compassion by everyone in the service. We saw people’s privacy and dignity was respected. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

Patients described the service and the staff who worked there as being exceptionally kind, considerate and empathetic. They told us they were happy with the care they had received.

Patients were asked to give feedback on their care through the NHS Friends and Family Test (FFT) using a 5-star rating system. The Friends and Family Test (FFT) is used to gather feedback from people using the service. Patients could complete the FFT electronically via their phone, using a QR code, or by filling in a paper questionnaire

One hundred and fifty-seven responses were received between 1 and 19 October 2025. Most people (90.4%) gave positive feedback, 2% of patients gave neutral feedback.

A breakdown of data from the FFT feedback received in August 2025 for the ED and PED was mainly positive, most people left a 5-star review for their overall experience of care (79.3%), and 11.8% left a 4-star review. The data showed 100% of respondents thought staff were kind and listened to them, 95% of the 64 respondents thought their privacy and dignity had been maintained by staff (90% 5 star, 5% 4 stars). People also said they were involved in decisions about their care (83.9% 5 star, 5% 4 star), were given enough information (80.5% 5 star, 9.1% 4 star), and had been told what would happen next (92.6% 5 star, 4% 4star).

Patients and their relatives and carers sent cards and letters to thank the staff for the care they provided. One relative wrote, “Just a note to thank all the staff for looking after my wife following a stroke. As seems to happen these days it was an extended stay in a crowded A &E, it was only made bearable by the friendly and supportive ways of the staff. I would like to thank doctor [name of doctor] for spending some of his valuable time explaining to us exactly what was happening”. Another relative wrote, “Thanks for the help, support, and pain medication you gave my daughter last night. You all do an amazing job”.

Staff received positive feedback from staff in other departments highlighting strong teamwork, effective communication, calmness under pressure, and proactive support during the care of a critically unwell patient. Comments included, “I just wanted to let you know that I was in resus all morning on Tuesday with a very sick man and I was really impressed with the nurses. They worked really well as a team, they were supporting each other, their communication was spot on, they demonstrated initiative and they were calm under pressure”.

Staff from the local ambulance trusts told us ED staff treated them with kindness and respect.

The service treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. Staff took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Staff recognised if people had different needs from their cultural, personal, religious or social history. These were understood and met where possible. For example, if people had dietary needs because of personal, spiritual, or religious beliefs staff provided food to meet that need.

Staff made sure patient’s basic needs were met as part of their comfort rounding. Comfort rounding ensured people were warm, comfortable, had enough to eat and drink, and an gave staff an opportunity to check if people wanted support with using the toilet/commode or having a wash/shower.

We read the following feedback from patients who had been seen together in line with their wishes, “…we received first class treatment from the moment we arrived in the department…We were given perfect and accurate information about how we would be seen, a thorough investigation of our problems, excellent treatment of our injuries, and careful instructions about how to care for the wounds when we left hospital. We were then telephoned the following morning to ensure we had understood how to proceed with our care. Throughout our treatment we were treated promptly respectfully, in a friendly and professional manner. We were grateful to be seen together, and our joint needs considered”.

The service promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

Staff understood the process of gaining consent and assessing patients’ ability to give consent. We looked at 10 files of people who lacked capacity at some point in their care journey. We saw least restrictive practices had been used and best interest decision making was made by the multidisciplinary team and was well documented. We saw regular re-assessment of capacity to check if patient’s level of capacity had changed.

Staff used age-appropriate language to help children and young people understand their care and treatment options to help improve their ability to be involved in decisions about their care.

We saw staff asking patients if anyone was accompanying them and if they wanted that person to be involved in their care.

Staff asked patients if they needed support, for example to walk from the waiting room to the triage room, rather than assuming they required support.

The service 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.

Patients were asked for their preferred name so this could be used throughout their appointment. Staff wore visible name badges. We saw staff introducing themselves and identifying their role in the patient’s care.

Patients told us staff had kept them informed about what was happening next. For example, a patient who had been in the department for 26 hours told us staff regularly updated them about what was happening with their treatment and when they would be transferred to a ward. The patient said staff had treated them with respect and been very kind. They told us they felt looked after and had had a very positive experience.

There were cubicles that could be used by patients with a higher medical acuity, and an end of life room for people in the last hours of their life. These cubicles and rooms offered a degree of privacy and meant private and sensitive conversations could not easily be overheard by others. However, staff were aware there was less privacy in the fit to sit area and the ambulance receiving area. One patient told us they had overheard a, “difficult situation” and afterwards staff had checked with them, and with their relative, to see if they needed any support.

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 the ED and PED environment. There was a family room in the ED that could be used for sensitive discussions, staff in the PED could use the family room adjacent to the children’s ward for sensitive conversations. The room was located across the corridor so was easy to access.

There were examination rooms for intimate examinations. Patients were offered chaperones to help maintain their dignity during intimate examinations or procedures and to provide emotional support and reassurance.

There were vending machines and water coolers in the waiting areas for people to use. If patients had to be in the department for longer than expected staff offered them hot and cold drinks. Patients told us they were regularly offered food and drinks. Food included hot and cold meals, and hot and cold drinks.

The trust installed chargers for mobile devises in the waiting room. This enabled patients and their relatives to ensure they could stay in contact with family members, arrange transport or childcare, and look up information, or keep themselves occupied during long waits.

Patients told us they had regular assessments of their pain levels, and pain relief was given when required.

Staff explained that some patients who had presented in a mental health crisis had to stay in the department for several days while a bed was being found for them in a mental health setting. They said they recognised these patients may get fed up with meals they received in ED so they gave them vouchers so they could get meals and drinks elsewhere in the hospital.

We saw call bells being answered quickly. Staff observed patients and intervened where they saw people were uncomfortable, uncovered or distressed. People appeared well cared for, clean and with the items they needed such as glasses or walking aids close by.

Pressure relieving mattresses were used for people at risk of tissue damage. Bariatric beds were used for bariatric patients.

The service cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.

Staff were asked to provide annual feedback about working for the trust. Over half (52%) of the staff group took part in the 2024 survey. The results showed the trust had scored higher than other trusts across England for staff being recognised and rewarded, having a voice that counts, always learning, working flexibly, staff engagement, and staff morale. In addition to this, almost 70% of respondents felt the trust took positive action on staff health and wellbeing, and 60% thought the trust was committed to helping staff balance their work and home life. Seventy-seven percent of respondents said they agreed or strongly agreed the trust was a great place to work (second highest score in the country), and 79.4% agreed or strongly agreed that they would be happy for a friend or relative to receive care at the trust (against a benchmark group of similar sized trusts that scored an average of 61.5%). The trust won a national award in October 2024 which named them ‘Trust of the Year’.

Senior leaders recognised that staff were increasingly being treated in an abusive manner by patients and staff, and that the work they were carrying out was becoming more stressful. As such the team had been given access to a designated clinical psychologist who was available to support all staff in the department. Staff told us the clinical psychologist was, “very helpful”, and was available by email or face to face. There were staff wellbeing champions who had received training to sign post staff to appropriate support. The wellbeing champions also arrange wellbeing events for staff in and out of work. For example, they arranged a talk about recognising and living with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and wellbeing walks.

There were areas for staff to take breaks and have warm food and drinks. Staff could access free snacks from a ‘hangry box’ if they were hungry in between breaks and needed an energy boost.

The week before our inspection senior leaders told us they had arranged a staff wellbeing week to demonstrate that the leaders recognised the pressures staff were working under and to celebrate the staff team. Leaders had engaged with the local community to source donated vouchers, and experiences that could be used as gifts and for a raffle for staff. There was a bake off competition designed to improve wellbeing. Staff were given small treats and food. The psychology team ran sessions on recognising burnout. Meditation and yoga sessions were held to demonstrate how to manage stress and the importance of stress management.

Staff had regular meetings where they were encouraged to explore how they could improve patient care and their working environment. Health care assistants told us they had made suggestions to improve their working conditions at one of these meetings, and the suggestions had been acted upon. They identified that working in the main ED waiting room was of a higher intensity than the work undertaken on the clinical decision unit (CDU). To reduce the stress associated with working in a high intensity environment they sought agreement to work half their shift in the ED waiting room and half in the CDU thus reducing their work-related stress levels.

Staff had a debrief at the end of each shift to discuss what went well and what could have gone better so that learning and improvement opportunities could be identified.

Staff told us they felt valued. The department displayed photographs of the whole team, which staff said helped them feel recognised. Teams also received ‘Employee of the month’ and ‘Going the Extra Mile’ awards to acknowledge their contribution to delivering safe, compassionate and inclusive care. The accident and emergency team had recently received a ‘going the extra mile award from the chief executive.

Staff described a range of wellbeing resources they could access through the trust intranet including financial advice, debt management, and a counselling service.

Birthday cards were sent out to all members of the nursing team to acknowledge and celebrate their birthday.