- NHS hospital
Royal Eye Infirmary
Assessment report published 8 May 2026
Contents
Ratings - Urgent and emergency services
Our view of the service
The assessment was carried out from 15 to 16 October 2025.
We carried out this assessment in line with our routine assessment priorities. We assessed 33 quality statements for the 5 key questions: safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.
This is the first assessment of the service. At this assessment we rated the service as requires improvement.
The urgent care department at the Royal Eye Infirmary offers a rapid access clinic. This is accessible through appointment via referral by minor eye condition services, NHS 111 or GP practitioners.
Some aspects of the service were not always safe. Staff did not always receive up to date training. Staff did not always follow safe systems and processes for medicines. The service did not collect and review data around the demand of the service to audit reviews of their capacity and staffing. However, there was a positive culture of safety, with safe systems, pathways and transitions. Staff knew how to safeguard people.
The service did not effectively complete audit and benchmark in line with best practice, and performance and patient outcome data was limited to help monitor and improve the service. Key governance metrics were not used. However, the multidisciplinary team worked well together, staff assessed people’s needs and knew how to gain consent to provide care and treatment.
The service delivered care with kindness and compassion and was respectful and responsive. People’s individual needs were recognised and support provided.
People were at the centre of their care and had access to the information they needed.
The urgent care leadership team was not cohesive. A new governance framework was embedding but did not focus on outcomes, audit and regular review of practice for urgent and emergency eye care. The service did not have a culture of learning, improvement and innovation.
There were breaches of regulation in safe care and treatment and good governance. Staff were not always aware of or following trust policy in relation to medicines. Staff did not always receive up to date training. The service did not assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service effectively.
An action plan will be requested upon publication of the final report.
People's experience of this service
We spoke with 5 patients and observed 2 consultations. Patients spoke positively about the care they received while attending the urgent care department. We observed staff caring for people with kindness and compassion.
Patients attending urgent care told us “Everything’s been perfect” “Kind respectful staff, very kind….and explained what might happen.” “Got sensible answers. Didn’t feel rushed.” “Very impressed with cleanliness”
In the last 6 months healthwatch had received 1 negative feedback about the urgent care service with long waits in the urgent care service and dismissive attitude of nurse.
Other health and social care service providers and stakeholders spoke positively about the Royal Eye Infirmary.
A recent healthwatch report key themes included:
- Patients generally reported staff and consultants were helpful and pleasant
- Patient with sight loss, visual impairments, the vulnerable and very elderly continued to struggle with most aspects of attending the Royal Eye Infirmary, in contrast to those with good visual ability.
- Travel to Royal Eye Infirmary continued to be a challenge due to limited bus services and inadequate parking.
- Long uncertain waits in clinic without updates caused anxiety.
- Majority of patients reported the format of letter received was satisfactory, although some experienced difficulties with phone communication and delays in receiving correspondence from Royal Eye Infirmary.
A Royal National Institute of Blind People eye care liaison officer said “It is welcoming and accessible to the patients who attend their appointments” and “the majority of feedback I receive from patients I support is positive. Most feel that they are well cared for and appreciate the dedication of the staff.”
The Royal Eye Infirmary league of friends said “We hold a large fund of donations given by ex patients and relatives……shows that those have attended the Royal Eye Infirmary appreciate the caring environment and well led processes that are involved in keeping them safe while they are in the hospital.”
The friends and family test results for outpatients and urgent care between 1 October 2024 and 18 October 2025 was generally positive. When asked, overall, how was your experience of our service, 3034 people said very good and 1035 people said good. There were 841 people who said neither good nor poor, poor or very poor.