- NHS hospital
Queens Hospital
Assessment report published 12 May 2026
Contents
Ratings - Outpatients
Our view of the service
We undertook an assessment of the outpatient services at Queens Hospital Burton and Royal Derby hospitals on 11 and 12th November 2025. These assessments were carried out as the provider was last inspected in 2019, under a previous inspection model. Therefore, we conducted a comprehensive assessment of this service group at these locations.
On this inspection, we inspected outpatient A and B areas which encompassed a wide variety of clinics including gynaecology, ear, nose and throat (ENT), general medicine, rheumatology, cardiology, respiratory, dermatology and surgery. We also looked at activity in the ophthalmology, urology and orthopaedics outpatient clinics which were in a separate building, known as the treatment centre.
The service had made improvements in the key areas of safe and well led since the last inspection. We rated this assessment service group as good overall.
Outpatient leaders encouraged a positive culture of safety. At this inspection we found that staff had completed relevant mandatory training and leaders had made plans to maintain staff numbers and improve succession planning. Staff understood how to protect patients from abuse and recognised incidents and reported them appropriately. The environment was clean and tidy. We saw an improvement in infection control since the last inspection and the department handled medicines and prescriptions safely and securely.
Staff assessed patients’ conditions and provided treatment promptly which meant patients had more positive outcomes. Patients’ care and treatment was tailored to their individual requirements. Staff monitored patients’ outcomes and worked together to provide support and guidance which helped patients with their ongoing recovery.
The service cared for patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. Staff treated patients as individuals and tailored their care to their specific needs. Patients had choice over their treatment and staff were quick to respond to their changing needs. Outpatients staff had received the appropriate chaperoning training, and this was pro-actively offered to patients. This showed an improvement since the last inspection. Leaders were approachable and cared about colleagues’ wellbeing and staff were encouraged to develop in their careers.
Access to outpatient clinics was straightforward and patients generally experienced positive outcomes. Patients were involved in planning and receiving their care which meant this met their personal circumstances. Staff ensured that information was shared with other agencies to enable continuity of care. Relevant information was provided in a way people could understand, and patients could provide feedback and raise concerns. Clinic availability had been expanded to provide a more accessible service for patients
Leaders promoted a positive culture which enabled staff to develop and were encouraged to speak up if they had concerns. However, some staff felt that there was still inconsistency with information sharing across teams in different specialty clinics, but work was underway to improve the cross-specialty communications and long-term effectiveness of the department.
Teams worked closely with other services and local communities to build relationships and improve people’s care. Leaders encouraged innovation within the departments to enhance staff and patients’ experience.
People's experience of this service
Feedback from patients was positive. Patients told us they were referred to the outpatient clinics by their GP. Staff arranged appointments as quickly as possible and were flexible with dates, including offering Saturday clinics. Patients were pleased with the care and treatment they received. They told us that the benefits and risks of procedures were explained clearly, and they were asked to sign consent forms. Family members and carers were invited into consultations and welcome to ask questions.
Patients felt that the outpatient departments were clean and that staff took precautions to control infection, such as washing their hands before caring for them and wiping surfaces clean. They told us reception staff were helpful, and most patients said staff kept them updated about delays to appointments.
Patients were generally complimentary of their experience in the department. Some said that they had seen the same doctors for some time and felt that these ongoing relationships improved their care. Patient comments included: “The level of care is excellent here” and “I’ve had a very good experience of these outpatient appointments so far.” However, some patients thought that receiving appointments by letter, or from the “Patient knows best” text messaging service could be confusing and lead to missed appointments or cancellations.
We observed staff reassure patients and answer their questions. We checked patient feedback data between May and October 2025, which indicated that patients in adult clinics were generally satisfied with their care.