University College Hospital & Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing

Ratings - Urgent and emergency services

• Overall

  Good

• Safe

  Good

• Effective

  Good

• Caring

  Good

• Responsive

  Good

• Well-led

  Good

Our view of the service

University College London Hospitals (UCLH) is a large NHS Foundation Trust situated in central London. The trust provides a range of acute and specialist services across 11 CQC-registered locations. The trust balances the provision of specialist services with acute services for the local populations of Camden, Islington, Westminster, Barnet, Enfield and Haringey. The urgent and emergency care service at UCLH consists of an adult emergency department (ED) and a paediatric ED.

The Emergency Department treats approximately 160,000 patients per year and provides 24/7 emergency care for adults and children. The service works closely with critical care units and specialist services. The ED receives local emergency cases and complex tertiary referrals, (from outside the area). The ED functions as the front door for acute care, managing trauma and medical emergencies as well as stroke and cardiac emergencies.

We carried out an unannounced inspection of Urgent and Emergency services at UCLH on 24 and 25 March 2026. In our assessment of the services, we assessed 25 quality statements from safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led key questions. We rated safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led as good.

We looked at 22 sets of patient clinical records; we spoke with 23 patients, 5 relatives and 67 members of staff. We visited and observed all areas of the ED including the main ED, triage and waiting areas, ambulance handover, urgent treatment centre, resuscitation area, majors, extended medicine ambulatory care (EMAC) and the paediatric ED.

People's experience of this service

Patients told us care was delivered in a thoughtful, considerate and respectful manner. Staff made efforts to engage with patients, introducing themselves and responding appropriately to discomfort, emotional distress, or mental health concerns. Support for children and young people was strong, with information shared in ways that were easy to understand and with active, positive involvement of families.

There was clear recognition of each individual’s needs, including the use of interpreters where necessary and adjustments to ensure equitable care. Feedback from patients highlighted good communication, supportive interactions, and an overall sense of feeling valued and well looked after by the team.