- NHS hospital
Fairfield General Hospital
Assessment report published 26 June 2026
Contents
Ratings - Urgent and emergency services
Our view of the service
Fairfield General Hospital provides a full range of urgent and emergency services for patients of all ages attending the accident and emergency department. The department is open 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. The hospital also has an urgent treatment centre (UTC) and same day emergency care (SDEC) service that support the emergency department.
We commenced a responsive assessment as part of our urgent and emergency care system pressures thematic review framework. We carried out an unannounced inspection from 20 to 22 January 2026. During the inspection, we spoke with 18 patients and relatives and looked at 30 care records. We also spoke with more than 50 staff, leaders and service partners, and reviewed policies and other documents relating to the service.
Our overall rating for urgent and emergency services remained the same. We rated the service as requires improvement.
We found 7 regulatory breaches relating to safe care and treatment, governance and staffing.
There was routine use of corridor care which risked patients’ safety, privacy and dignity and staff’s ability to provide safe care. The service did not always make sure there were enough qualified, skilled and suitably trained staff.
The service did not always have effective processes for medicines management or treatment of sepsis. Compliance in some infection control standards was below expected standards. People could not always access care, support and treatment when they needed it. Governance processes were not always effective in managing risks and performance issues across the service. Leaders understood the key risks to the service but actions taken to address these risks had not been fully implemented or led to service improvements.
However, staff understood how to protect patients from abuse. Premises and equipment were clean and well-maintained. Leaders promoted a positive work culture. Most patients were treated with dignity and respect. Most patients experienced positive outcomes following their care and treatment. However, mixed patient outcomes had been reported in some clinical audit indicators.
People's experience of this service
Most of the patients and relatives we spoke with were positive about the way staff treated them. They told us staff were kind, respectful, kept them updated about their care and provided suitable care and treatment. They told us they felt the premises and equipment were safe, clean and well maintained and they knew how to raise a complaint or concern. Patients and relatives spoke positively about being offered refreshments while they waited for treatment.
However, most patients and relatives told us they had experienced long waiting times and were not always given clear information on how long they would remain in the service.