- NHS hospital
King's College Hospital
Assessment report published 30 July 2026
Ratings - Surgery
Our view of the service
We carried out a short notice announced onsite comprehensive inspection of surgical services on 14 and 15 April 2026 due to aged ratings and concerns around culture. We also carried out remote interviews between the 15 April and 23 April 2026. We inspected all quality statements across the five key questions: safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.
During our assessment we visited the following wards: Cotton, Trundle, Coptcoat, Twining, Katherine Monk, Murray Falconer, Charles Polky and the surgical ambulatory care unit (SACU). We also visited a selection of theatres and recovery; the surgical admissions lounge, discharge lounge and day surgery unit (DSU). We spoke with over 80 members of staff including nursing and medical staff of all grades, operating department practitioners, allied health professionals, pharmacists, healthcare assistants, housekeeping staff, and managers. We spoke with care group, and division leads and we spoke with over 21 patients and their relatives. We also reviewed 25 patient records.
At the previous inspection in 2019 we rated the service as requires improvement. At this assessment we rated the service as good. The previous breach had been addressed, with improvements to medical staff mandatory training rates.
There was a culture of learning and improvement, staff and teams worked well to deliver good person-centred care, staff were kind, caring and compassionate, and there were clear governance systems in place to manage risk and a focus on improving performance.
However, risks to people had not been consistently assessed and mitigated and there were regular staffing shortages on wards. The service was not always easy to access and patients at times experienced long waits for their surgery.
The service had made improvements from the previous inspection and is no longer in breach of the legal regulation relating to staffing.
People's experience of this service
Patients we spoke to were very positive about their experience, they felt safe and cared for and the service was responsive in meeting their needs. They were given pain relief and told us the staff were kind and caring. The Friends and Family Test was positive and indicated patient satisfaction with the service.