Chelsea and Westminster 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 children, young people and their families were treated with kindness, compassion and respect. We considered whether their privacy and dignity were maintained and whether staff understood the importance of children and young people’s experiences of care. We found that staff made every effort to respect children and young people’s wishes and choices and to support positive outcomes.

Children and young people were treated with kindness and compassion, and their privacy and dignity were respected. Staff understood that how children and young people were treated and supported was important. Children and young people were treated as individuals and given choice and control wherever possible.

The hospital took a comprehensive approach to supporting CYP staff wellbeing across all clinical areas. A range of staff initiatives were in place to support emotional resilience, boost morale, and reduce workplace stress. This included a monthly presentation shared across all sites, called the ‘Monthly Team Brief’, which provided updates on quality, safety and performance, while also celebrating successes. Most staff we spoke with felt that the team brief, along with governance awareness half days study sessions, supported staff to contribute to setting strategic priorities and shaping the service’s annual work plan.

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.

The service treated children and young people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff also treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

During the inspection, we observed staff being kind and caring towards children, young people and families. We spoke with children, young people and family members, who told us staff were kind and compassionate. They were overwhelmingly positive about their care and treatment in all areas of the children’s services we visited. Staff spoke positively about their work and told us they were committed to providing the best possible care and treatment.

Staff recognised the importance of maintaining dignity. When providing care or carrying out observations, curtains were drawn or doors were closed. Staff introduced themselves clearly and explained procedures to children, young people and their families before providing care or treatment.

Staff showed compassion towards families, particularly in the High Dependency Unit (HDU). They spoke sensitively with parents of babies who were unwell, offering reassurance, comfort and clear explanations about the next steps in care and treatment of their child. Staff understood and respected the personal, cultural, social and religious needs of children and young people and their families, through their engagement and provision of cultural and religious diet and facilities.

We were told staff collaborated with other colleagues to provide support for young people with mental ill health and physical conditions. The service had access to a range of professionals to support them to deliver care including a play specialist to support children before procedures. They helped reduce anxiety before surgery and during the hospital stay. They could also access mental health professionals to support patients and their families with mental health needs. Staff used visual aids, sensory objects, and distraction techniques to help children understand their treatment and feel more comfortable.

The service treated children and young people as individuals and worked with them to provide care and treatment that met their needs and preferences. Staff took account of children’s abilities, aspirations, culture and backgrounds, including protected characteristics.

We spoke with eight children and young people and their families who told us staff treated them well, with kindness and respect, and maintained their dignity. They said staff listened to them and took their views seriously.

Staff we spoke with described how they assessed children and young people’s needs and preferences as part of their assessments and consultations and ensured these were reflected in care planning. They told us they respected individual wishes and maintained confidentiality.

Records showed that multidisciplinary meetings had taken place where required, with input from mental health services and social workers to support children and young people with complex needs. Demonstrating a service that worked collaboratively with their mental health counterparts to support children and young people with complex needs.

In the theatre waiting areas, we saw that quiet rooms were available for children who were sensitive to noise, these children were taken out of the main waiting area to a specially designed room, which included an interactive screen to help keep them calm and engaged. This helped to minimise their stress and anxiety and ensured effective treatment.

The service promoted children and young people’s independence and supported them to have choice and control over their care, treatment and wellbeing.

Children and young people and their families told us staff asked and took into account their individual choices and wishes. They said they were kept informed about their care and given information to help them understand decisions.

Parents, guardians and carers told us staff were responsive to needs, particularly in relation to their child’s pain management and dietary preferences. Families said pain relief was provided promptly, and staff were flexible in supporting children to access food that met their preferences and nutritional needs.

The service supported parental involvement wherever it was clinically safe to do so. Parents were welcomed into the recovery area to be with their child after surgery, which supported the child’s emotional wellbeing and recovery.

Staff provided children, young people and their families with verbal and written information to support recovery following surgery. Information was tailored to the procedure and included advice on wound care, pain management and post‑operative recovery.

Safety and continuity of care were priorities throughout the care journey of children and young people. The service assessed the needs of children and young people and planned their transition to support services after discharge from the ward when required. There were effective systems in place to support patient pathways, we were told the CYP service had good links with external agencies and community teams to support the child and their family. Managers we spoke with said that this partnership working was effective. Children with chronic conditions had direct access to the service and had a named contact person they could reach at any time if needed.

Children, young people and their families told us they felt staff communicated with them clearly and in a way that they understood. They said staff had been kind and had responded quickly to their needs, including answering call bells within a minute.

Families of children and young people reported that they had been kept informed and felt involved in their child’s care, which they valued during challenging situations. They told us paediatric nursing staff had responded promptly to the needs of their children, helping to reduce their pain, anxiety and discomfort.

Paediatric nursing staff were seen engaging with children during assessments, discussing immediate needs and planning suitable activities. Parents remained present and contributed to discussions about what mattered most for their child.

In the recovery ward, each child had been allocated a dedicated staff member, ensuring continuous monitoring and rapid response to emerging needs. This arrangement supported immediate oversight and timely intervention.

Clinical staff monitored children closely as they woke up from anaesthesia, offering reassurance, comfort and required clinical interventions. Staff responded calmly and supportively to any distress, helping children feel safe and well cared for. Recovery bays were equipped to meet patient needs, enabling staff to deliver high‑quality, responsive care.

Paediatric nursing staff prioritised the comfort, safety and emotional wellbeing of children and young people. They were observed to be attentive and responsive to those waking from surgery, providing both clinical and emotional support.

Children and young people told us medicines had been given on time, and patients reported that staff had checked for pain and offered relief when needed.

During our onsite inspection, we observed that staff consistently introduced themselves to patients and their families, responded promptly to requests, and kept patients regularly informed. The service used a named nurse model to support continuity of care. We also noted that call buzzers on the ward were answered quickly by clinical staff.

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

Staff described a positive culture that supported wellbeing and development. They told us they felt valued and proud to work for the service and had access to opportunities for personal and professional development through sponsorship at conferences and educational support to gain professional qualification like clinical nurse specialist courses and management-based courses for ward managers and their deputies. For example, we saw band 6 nurses who were in training to become practice educators or paediatric senior nurses.

Staff said they felt confident to raise concerns and believed they would be listened to and supported by leaders. They described a culture where concerns were taken seriously.

Staff told us workloads were manageable and that their wellbeing was supported through reflective practice and one to one support. Sickness absence rates were low, at less than 1%. Staff spoke positively about working for the service and their teams.

The CYP staff we spoke with highlighted that there was a dedicated and hardworking team, with strong teamwork and good resources, including effective information technology systems that was available to support their work within the service.