CQC publishes latest inspection report on Epsom and St Helier
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published its latest report on Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust following inspections in December 2025.
The independent regulator of health and social care in England reviewed services including urgent and emergency care, medical care, maternity and surgery, and has confirmed services at the Trust are rated ‘Good’, reflecting our safe and compassionate care.
We are very proud of our maternity teams for all the hard work they have done to drive significant improvements across all areas since the last inspection and are pleased that our colleagues have been recognised for the “kind” and “respectful” care they give to our patients every day.
The CQC found many examples of where our maternity and surgery services have improved, following positive actions we’ve taken around providing good continuity of care, reducing discharge delays, and working with multi-disciplinary teams and healthcare providers to understand patient needs.
We know there are some areas where we must do better, such as improving patient experience during periods of increased pressure, for example directing patients to the Urgent Treatment Centre where appropriate, which is already seeing a reduction in corridor care and length of stay.
Epsom General Hospital remains rated ‘Good’, unchanged from its previous rating, but with notable improvements in safety – particularly in maternity and surgery services, following decisive and clinically led actions taken to address concerns.
The CQC has lowered St Helier Hospital and Queen Mary's Hospital for Children’s rating from ‘Good’ to ‘Requires Improvement’, noting improvements needed in its well-led overview.
The report acknowledged capacity restraints in St Helier’s emergency department, and identified areas where improvements are required around patient flow and ageing buildings, and work is already underway to address this.
Alex Shaw, Managing Director of Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We are pleased that the CQC’s overall rating reflects our safe and compassionate care – and are very proud of our maternity teams for the hard work they have done to drive significant improvements since the last inspection.
“We are addressing areas where we need to go further, such as improving patient experience during periods of increased pressure – including directing more patients to our Urgent Treatment Centre, which is already seeing a reduction in corridor care and length of stay.”
Epsom Hospital
At Epsom General Hospital, the CQC found clear examples of where safety has improved, particularly in maternity and surgery services.
This includes actions taken since the last inspection to address discharge delays in maternity and the antenatal clinic by trialling additional medication on the maternity ward and increasing appointment times.
They found concrete improvements to the service, such as having enough appropriately trained midwifery and medical staff to keep women and babies safe, and involving women to help staff understand and manage risks.
The CQC recognised good continuity of care with patients in surgery services, including when they're moved between different services, by working with people and healthcare providers to understand the patient’s needs, including those with complex needs.
They also however found that medical care services did not always work well with people and healthcare partners to establish and maintain safe care – in part due to slow patient discharge, mixed sex beds in Same Day Emergency Care and insufficient washing services.
Teams at Epsom are working to improve services so all patients are treated with dignity and respect, and to ensure they receive appropriate personal care, nutrition and hydration.
They found Epsom General Hospital has clear processes and specialist support for people with mental health needs, and that despite facing sustained pressure, staff were committed to providing compassionate care – but actions are being taken to further improve support, particularly in the emergency department.
The CQC found that patients and families generally experienced compassionate care, respect and kindness, however it was often affected by pressures including overcrowding, prolonged waits and the use of corridors.
St Helier Hospital and Queen Mary's Hospital for Children
The CQC lowered St Helier Hospital and Queen Mary's Hospital for Children’s rating from ‘Good’ to ‘Requires Improvement’, as while the report recognises many improvements, it also highlights challenges including patient flow and capacity. We are focused on delivering the further improvements needed.
Services are working to improve patient flow by utilising maximum capacity, including through services like the discharge lounge, and monitoring daily risk assessment compliance and addressing gaps in staffing – such as reviewing how physiotherapy and occupational therapy could be prioritised for patients waiting to be discharged.
The CQC recognised the improvements made to maternity services around issues such as triage, medicines, care records, staffing, bereavement, privacy, dignity, and respect for women.
This includes the introduction of a full multidisciplinary team for maternity theatres, leading to women reporting they feel involved in decisions about their care.
We recognise that there are still challenges following the integration of the new Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system 6 months prior to the inspection, and a three-year EPR roadmap is in place to continue optimising the system, alongside encouraging staff to feedback any issues and report them as incidents in order to make the system easier and more efficient.
The report recognised restraints in capacity at St Helier’s emergency department, and an action plan is in place to tackle temporary escalation areas and overcrowding. We also remain committed to building a new Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Sutton so we can treat our patients in modern facilities fit for purpose.
The full inspection report will be published on the CQC website.
