Hospital still needs to improve

'SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERNS' BUT TRUST HAS MADE PROGRESS SINCE LAST INSPECTION

- By PHILIP JAMES LYNCH

A WEST London hospital operating in rundown buildings has been told it still needs to improve by the health watchdog, but it has made clear progress since the last inspection.

Services at hospitals operated by Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust were inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) between July 2024 and February 2025, and included urgent and emergency care and surgery services at Hillingdon Hospital.

Also inspected was Mount Vernon Hospital, in Northwood, which was given an overall rating of 'Good' - an upgrade from its previous rating of 'Requires Improvement'.

Hillingdon Hospital, which was described by the Health Secretary as "one of the worst I've ever seen" in terms of the condition of its buildings, has improved its overall rating from 'Inadequate' to 'Requires Improvement'.

The Uxbridge hospital will be one of the first to benefit from £1.5 billion of Government investment to build a new hospital in the next few years as part of the revised New Hospitals Programme.

The hospital surgery was rated 'Good' against the effective, caring, and responsive metrics, however on safety and leadership it still 'Requires Improvement'. Among the findings, inspectors discovered that infection prevention protocols "were not consistently adhered to".