- NHS hospital
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital
Assessment report published 28 August 2026
Contents
Ratings - Medical care (Including older people's care)
Our view of the service
We carried out this inspection as part of the Urgent and Emergency Care Winter Pathway programme. We inspected on the 27 and 28 January 2026. We inspected 26 quality statements across the 5 key lines of enquiry. At this assessment found improvements and no breaches of regulation.
Staff teams worked well together when assessing people's needs and shared information. Patients told us that staff were caring, kind and respected their wishes. The service was providing person centred care and meeting individual needs for patients who had dementia or required palliative care.
However, key issues included discharge delays and patient flow pressures, weaknesses in medicines management, inconsistent infection prevention and control practices, and gaps in the documentation of mental capacity assessments. There were also ongoing concerns regarding staff confidence to speak up, risks associated with the ageing estate, and limited awareness among frontline staff of the service's vision and strategy.
People's experience of this service
Patients’ experience of medical care was largely positive. Patients and families consistently described staff as kind, compassionate and attentive, with many saying staff went above and beyond to support them. Patients felt safe, listened to and well cared for, with timely responses to pain, discomfort and calls for help. Care for older people, those living with dementia, and people with additional or communication needs was generally personalised and respectful, and compassionate end‑of‑life care. Patients using the virtual ward valued being able to recover at home while remaining well supported by clinical teams.
However, some patients experienced frustration linked to discharge delays and occasional poor communication about discharge arrangements or medication changes. Despite these pressures, feedback showed patients generally felt respected, involved in their care and confident in staff, with the service demonstrating a commitment to learning from feedback to improve the overall patient experience.