A north west Surrey hospital has retained a ‘good’ rating for its urgent and emergency care following a recent inspection.
Frimley Park Hospital in Camberley was praised for its “exceptional” medical care but warned safety and patients moving between departments remain areas for improvement.
The latest Care Quality Commission report published on Thursday (August 28), reviewed urgent and emergency care alongside medical services run by Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust.
Inspectors found strong leadership, compassionate staff, and examples of high quality patient care. But CQC staff also warned people could not always access care and treatment in the department in a timely manner due to issues of patients moving throughout the hospital.
Lance McCarthy, Chief Executive of Frimley Health NHS Foundation trust, said: “I am very proud of the care we are providing and even prouder of the people who are delivering it every day.”
Urgent and emergency services were rated as ‘good’. Inspectors praised a positive learning culture, effective infection control, and compassionate care.
Staff were trained and competent, with systems in place to safeguard children and vulnerable patients, according to the report. It noted patients described staff as kind and respectful.
Helen Rawlings, CQC Director of Operations in the South, said: “Staff should be proud of these positive findings, which reflect the difference they make to people’s lives every day.”
She added: “People told us staff treated them with kindness, empathy, and respect for their dignity. In urgent and emergency care, we saw a clear culture of learning and safety, with staff following evidence-based practice and managing most safety risks well. In medical care, staff maintained a proactive approach to safety and consistently achieved good outcomes.
“People could access care when they needed it, although hospital-wide flow challenges sometimes delayed timely treatment.”
However, CQC inspectors noted ongoing challenges at Frimley. The hospital’s safety rating continues to be require improvement with problems of patients moving through departments leading to delays in emergency care.
While risks were said to be “mostly mitigated”, people could not always access treatment in a timely way.
The report noted the service was aware of system pressures and sought to develop services that met the changing needs of patients.
Wexham Park Hospital in Slough, which is also part of the Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, was also upgraded from good to outstanding during the inspection.
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