John Radcliffe Hospital

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• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

This means we looked at how well people’s privacy, dignity, choices and preferences were respected, and whether they understood that their views and experiences mattered in achieving the best possible outcomes.

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 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 dignity and respect. They responded promptly to individual needs, providing emotional support and clear explanations about care and treatment options. This helped women feel informed and confident in managing their care.

Women spoke positively about staff. All 13 women we spoke with described staff as kind, caring and informative. One woman told us she felt well supported during early labour away from home. Staff kept her partner informed and provided clothes and toiletries when she had none, helping her feel valued and comfortable during a stressful time.

Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity. We observed staff using blankets and screens during transfers and procedures and speaking with people in private spaces. Care was documented securely in electronic records.

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. We saw an example of exceptional care.

Staff treated people as individuals and responded to their needs with kindness. For example, we saw one woman who had recently given birth in the operating theatre. As she was transferred to the ward, staff ensured she was positioned in a way that allowed her to have skin-to-skin contact with her baby and staff continually asked her if she was comfortable and warm in her bed.

People received compassionate and personalised care. One woman told us staff were “lovely and caring” when she disclosed her depression. Staff ensured her mental health needs were understood and supported. She described the perinatal team as “brilliant” during a mental health crisis in pregnancy. The mental health team were informed of her admission and visited her on the ward, which helped her feel comfortable and supported.

Staff made reasonable adjustments to support people’s access to the service, including offering different communication tools. For example, the service introduced a digital tool to connect at-risk people in Oxford with local social and emotional support. Staff also provided free telephone SIM cards to people experiencing poverty.

Staff understood and respected individual cultural needs. They completed equality, diversity and inclusion training and demonstrated awareness of people’s personal, cultural, social and religious needs.

Staff demonstrated inclusive caring practice. They took proactive steps to understand and meet the needs of women from ethnic minority backgrounds. Dedicated meetings helped staff learn about cultural values and plan care in a respectful way. In an example of outstanding commitment, one midwife began learning the community’s language to improve communication and build trust. Women from ethnic minority groups told us they felt well cared for, understood and respected.

People had access to food that met their religious, cultural, and dietary needs, including allergies and intolerances. Staff also supported people to access appropriate spiritual care.

Although people noted there was a frequent turnover according to shift patterns of staff, they consistently described them as kind and supportive.

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

Staff supported people to make informed choices about their care. We saw staff take time to explain options clearly and encourage people to choose what felt right for them. For example, women using midwife-led units were offered a range of birthing options, including pools, balls and stools. One woman told us a doctor explained the benefits and side effects of a treatment, checked their understanding and gave them time to decide. The doctor returned daily to answer questions, helping them feel informed and not pressured. When people chose to give birth outside clinical guidance, they were supported by the consultant midwife service.

Women were guided to appropriate services throughout their care. Staff provided practical information, such as leaflets on registering a baby’s birth, and encouraged attendance at daily breastfeeding drop-in sessions. Specialist feeding clinics were available for those needing extra support following discharge.

Staff supported people to maintain important relationships. They recognised the value of family and community connections for wellbeing. Birth partners could visit the postnatal ward at any time, and rooms with pull-out beds were available so partners could stay. Any visiting restrictions were applied in people’s best interests.

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.

Women spoke positively about staff responsiveness and communication. People told us staff were informative, helpful and explained every step of their care. Pain relief options were offered, and women were encouraged to use the call bell if needed. One woman said staff responded within seconds when she called and she was never left waiting.

Most feedback from women was positive. People told us staff were responsive and listened to their concerns. Comments included, “The staff were phenomenal. I was never left waiting” and “They talked me through every step and asked permission for anything they did.”

Some women highlighted areas for improvement. One woman said she initially felt “fobbed off” by the maternity assessment unit but described care during labour and after birth as “great” and praised breastfeeding support. Another told us there were not enough postnatal staff and no breastfeeding support available.

Survey results reflected similar themes. Feedback received by the CQC from 63 women showed high satisfaction overall but identified improvements needed in timely pain relief and breastfeeding support. The service acted on feedback about consistency in community midwives and introduced initiatives to improve provision.

The Triangulation and Learning Committee comprised of service users and staff and met monthly. The trust was making improvements on postnatal wards by introducing 24-hour partner visits and self-administration of some pain relief medication. The Friends and Family Test (FFT) response rate increased in July 2025. Following the success of "Say on the Day" feedback about devices in Ultrasound, more devices were added to other maternity areas in August 2025.

We scored the service as 3. The service cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.

Staff felt respected, supported and valued in their roles. They spoke positively about working for the provider and valued their team. The latest staff survey showed improvement. However, staff and leaders said they felt vulnerable because of negative public perceptions of maternity services and local campaigns against the service. After negative media attention, the maternity leadership team made sure staff could access the support they needed, and staff knew about all available options.

Leaders valued staff and worked to improve culture by prioritising staff experience in the trust’s maternity improvement programme. The maternity leadership team prioritised staff wellbeing by increasing the number of professional midwife advocates and emotional support services for staff. They received a national award from UK MUM (Maternity Unit Marvels) Awards in recognition of their investment in the workforce.

We saw a strong culture of appreciation and staff recognition. Reward schemes allow staff to give feedback to colleagues who go the extra mile.