Queens 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 people were always treated with kindness, empathy and compassion. We checked that people’s privacy and dignity was respected, that they understood that they and their experience of how they were treated and supported mattered. We also looked for evidence that every effort was made to take people’s wishes into account and respect their choices, to achieve the best possible outcomes for them. 

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good.

This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

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 always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

Staff treated women with kindness, compassion and respect. Throughout the inspection, we observed staff interacting with women and those close to them in a caring, considerate and personalised way. Staff took time to listen, provide reassurance and support women according to their individual needs. Their attitude was consistently positive and professional, creating a warm, welcoming and inclusive atmosphere across the service.

Women spoke highly of the care they received and told us they felt valued and respected by staff. All the women we spoke with during the inspection provided positive feedback about their experiences of care and treatment. One woman described an anaesthetist and other members of staff as “super reassuring”. She and her partner also told us that “even the students are amazing. You wouldn't know they were students because they are so good”.

Staff protected women's privacy and dignity. They followed trust policies to maintain the confidentiality of care and treatment and took appropriate steps to ensure women felt comfortable during their care. We observed staff closing curtains around bed spaces when providing care and treatment. Staff knocked on doors before entering, asked permission before opening curtains and waited to be invited into rooms and cubicles.

Staff understood and respected women's individual needs. They demonstrated a nonjudgemental approach when caring for women with physical or mental health needs and ensured women could access additional support when required, including referrals to the perinatal mental health team. Staff also recognised and respected women's personal, cultural, social and religious needs, adapting care where appropriate to support individual preferences and values.

Women told us staff kept them informed about their care and treatment and explained what was happening in a way they could understand. This helped women feel involved in decisions about their care and supported positive experiences throughout their maternity journey.

Results from the 2025 CQC Maternity Survey reflected the positive feedback received during the inspection. Of the 575 maternity service users invited to participate, the trust achieved a response rate of 38%, which was in line with the average response rate of 39% across trusts. The trust scored 9.0 out of 10 for treating women with respect and dignity during labour and birth and 8.9 out of 10 for treating women with kindness and compassion during labour and birth. These scores were in line with the average scores achieved by other trusts.

The service treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Staff treated women with compassion and respect and recognised their individual needs and preferences. We observed staff communicating with women and their families in ways they could understand. Translation services were readily available, and staff were confident in accessing these when required. Tablets were used to provide almost instant written translation, helping to reduce communication barriers. Face-to-face interpreters could also be arranged for women who preferred this approach.

Women and their families had access to information in formats that met their needs. The service promoted the use of a pregnancy journey app, accessible through a QR code. This enabled women to access information and leaflets in their preferred language, supporting informed decision-making and engagement with their care.

Women were encouraged to share their views and experiences of the service. We saw information displayed throughout the unit promoting opportunities to provide feedback. Staff supported women and their families to give feedback where required and used this information to help improve services.

Care was personalised, and women were actively involved in decisions about their treatment and care. During ward rounds, medical and midwifery staff engaged with women and, where appropriate, their partners and significant others to discuss options and agree plans of care. It was evident that women’s wishes and preferences were central to decision-making.

The service recognised and responded to a diverse range of needs. Women had access to specialist dietary options to meet cultural, religious, and clinical requirements. Staff also ensured women could access spiritual support through the hospital chaplaincy service when this was requested.

The service worked collaboratively with the Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership (MNVP) to understand the experiences of women and families from a wide range of backgrounds. Feedback gathered through community listening events was used to inform service development and improvements. Service leaders also reviewed themes emerging from complaints and negative feedback and shared learning with staff through regular newsletters, promoting a culture of reflection and continuous improvement.

The service promoted people’s independence, so women knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

Women were supported to maintain their independence and to make choices about their care and treatment. Staff respected women's rights to make decisions and worked in partnership with them to ensure care reflected their individual preferences and circumstances.

Women were actively involved in planning their care and developing personalised care plans. Staff demonstrated a commitment to shared decision-making, including when women chose options that differed from clinical recommendations. Consultant midwives met with women who wished to birth against medical advice, such as those with higher-risk pregnancies requesting a home birth. These discussions enabled women to fully explore the risks and benefits of their choices and agree personalised plans that balanced individual preferences with the safety of both mother and baby. Agreed plans were recorded on the electronic patient record system, enabling all relevant staff, including community midwives, to access and follow the woman's wishes during labour.

Staff supported women to understand information and make informed decisions about their care. Interpreting services were available when required, and staff encouraged the involvement of partners, relatives, or other supporters to help women understand their options and participate in decisions. Where staff identified concerns regarding a woman's understanding or ability to make informed decisions, this was reviewed throughout their care to ensure appropriate support was provided.

Women and their supporters told us staff took time to explain changes in care and treatment, particularly when labour did not progress as expected. Staff provided clear information about available options, checked understanding, and involved women in decisions about their ongoing care wherever possible.

The service recognised the importance of maintaining relationships that mattered to women. Flexible visiting arrangements enabled women to spend time with partners, family members, and older children, supporting family involvement during the maternity journey.

Women requiring additional support had access to a range of specialist services to ensure they could make informed choices and receive care tailored to their individual needs. Specialist midwives, including those working in substance misuse, perinatal mental health, bereavement, and fetal medicine services, provided expert support and advocacy. This helped women access the information, guidance, and interventions needed to exercise choice and control over their care and treatment.

The service listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

Staff listened to and understood women’s needs, views and wishes. They responded promptly to concerns as they arose and took action to minimise discomfort, anxiety and distress. 

During our inspection, we observed staff providing timely reassurance and support to women and their families. This was supported by the results of the CQC Maternity Survey 2025, in which the trust performed in line with the national average for questions relating to staff being available when women needed attention during labour and birth, and women not being left alone when they were worried.

Staff were able to access additional support for women whose condition deteriorated. Midwives could escalate concerns to enhanced care staff, and the hospital’s critical care outreach team provided specialist advice and support when needed. Clear criteria and agreed levels of care across the maternity service enabled staff to identify and respond appropriately to women requiring higher levels of monitoring or intervention.

Women told us there were enough staff available to respond promptly when assistance was required. We observed call bells being answered without delay and staff responding quickly to requests for support. Staff treated women and their families with kindness and compassion and were mindful of the emotional and practical support needs associated with pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period.

The service did not always care about and promote the wellbeing of their staff. They did not always support or enable staff to deliver person-centred care.

The service did not consistently support the wellbeing and enablement of all staff. Although leaders told us that staff wellbeing was important and had introduced a range of initiatives to support staff, not all staff felt listened to, valued, or supported to carry out their roles effectively.

Many staff members told us they had worked at the hospital for many years because they enjoyed being midwives and valued their colleagues. Several described the workforce as “a family”. However, some staff said this positive team culture was the primary reason they remained in post despite ongoing pressures within the service.

Band 6 midwives did not always feel respected, supported, or valued by the trust. They told us their direct line managers were supportive, approachable, and kind, but did not have the authority or influence to address systemic issues affecting their working lives. Staff described high workloads and increasing demands on the service, which negatively impacted their wellbeing.

Band 6 and junior midwifery staff reported that they were not always able to take their allocated breaks. Staff told us they frequently worked beyond their contracted hours and, at times, completed administrative tasks from home to keep up with workload demands. This did not support staff wellbeing or work-life balance.

The service had implemented a range of measures aimed at promoting staff wellbeing. Leaders encouraged staff to maintain hydration and had provided a drinks trolley in the midwifery station to improve access to drinking water during shifts. Staff also had access to a comprehensive wellbeing hub, which provided services including free eye tests, gym and activity classes, smoking cessation programmes, physiotherapy, back care services, flu vaccinations, stress management training, and confidential counselling support.

There were well-established colleague networks available to staff, including EMBRACE (Ethnic Minorities Broadening Racial Awareness and Cultural Exchange), Disability and Long-Term Conditions, Pride, Gender Equality, Age Positive, Armed Forces, and Carers' Networks. Each network was supported by a member of the executive team. The trust had also introduced several initiatives through its “Our Staff Spoke, We Listened, We Acted” programme, including offering discounts and reward schemes, flexible working arrangements, holiday and salary sacrifice benefits, and other staff support measures.

The service supported staff induction and continuing professional development. Training and development days were organised regularly and covered areas relevant to clinical practice and service delivery. However, staffing shortages and operational pressures meant staff were not always able to attend training, learning events, or personal development opportunities. This limited some staff's ability to maintain and develop their skills.

Staff had access to occupational health services to support their physical and emotional wellbeing. The service's sickness absence rate was 9.5%, which was above the trust target. Leaders were aware of this and had implemented actions to support staff wellbeing and reduce sickness absence, including wellbeing initiatives and dedicated wellbeing days.

Staff appraisals included discussions about career development and opportunities for progression. Staff told us these conversations supported them to consider future career aspirations and identify development opportunities. However, some staff felt that workload pressures could make it difficult to take advantage of the development opportunities available.