Embargoed: CQC rates emergency care services run by London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust

Press release embargoed until 00.01hrs on Wednesday 26 November 

Links to the embargoed inspection reports are at the very end of this email 

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected urgent and emergency services run by London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust in July 2025. The services at Northwick Park Hospital and Ealing Hospital have again been rated requires improvement. Urgent and emergency services at Central Middlesex Hospital have been rated good, which has also raised that hospital’s overall rating to good.   

CQC carried out these inspections as part of ongoing monitoring, and to follow up on improvements CQC told leaders to make at previous inspections. 

Following these inspections: 

• Urgent and emergency services at Northwick Park Hospital have been lowered from good to requires improvement for safe. They’ve been rated requires improvement again for responsive. They’ve been rated good again for caring and well-led. CQC has raised them from requires improvement to good for effective. 

• Urgent and emergency services at Ealing Hospital have been lowered from good to requires improvement for safe. They’ve been rated requires improvement again for responsive. They’ve been rated good again for caring and well-led. CQC has raised them from requires improvement to good for effective. 

• Urgent and emergency services at Central Middlesex Hospital have been rated good for safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led. Central Middlesex Hospital runs an urgent treatment centre for people with minor injuries or illnesses from 8am to midnight but does not have an accident and emergency department. People requiring the latter were treated at neighbouring hospitals.  

This is the first inspection of these hospitals in which urgent treatment centres were inspected as part of urgent and emergency services. 

While people were triaged promptly on arrival, some people then waited over 12 hours in the emergency departments at Northwick Park and Ealing Hospitals for treatment. The services weren’t always managing people’s safety well during these times of high pressure, which put some people at risk of harm. Staff couldn’t always maintain people’s privacy when caring for them in temporary care areas, such as corridors.

However, inspectors saw an honest safety culture across all three hospitals, in which leaders knew the problems they faced, listened to people’s concerns, and were learning from incidents to improve people’s care in future. People at all three hospitals said staff treated them kindly.  

Inspectors found: 

• At Northwick Park Hospital, staff weren't always visible in temporary care areas we visited. This could put people in these areas at risk if their health deteriorated, as staff might not respond quickly. 

• At Northwick Park Hospital, some people had to stand or sit on the floor of the waiting room while waiting because there weren’t enough chairs. 

• At Ealing hospital, there weren’t always enough appropriately qualified staff on duty in temporary care areas to meet people’s needs safely. 

• At Ealing and Northwick Park Hospital, staff didn’t always give people accurate information, such as waiting times, in ways they could understand. 

• While all three hospitals were clean, staff weren’t always managing infection risks well. For example, some equipment wasn’t consistently cleaned and labelled as such at Ealing and Central Middlesex Hospitals. 

However: 

• People at all three hospitals said they felt safe raising concerns to staff. 

• Staff managed people’s medications safely at all three hospitals. 

• People said staff at Central Middlesex Hospital gave them clear information, and inspectors saw they involved people in decisions about their care. 

The report will be published on CQC’s website (Northwick Park Hospital) (Ealing Hospital) (Central Middlesex Hospital) in the coming days.  

Contact    

For media enquiries:   

Sinclair Davis, senior regional media and communications officer – 07385 373936 – sinclair.davis@cqc.org.uk   

Jennifer Fung, senior regional media and communications advisor – 07471  020462 – jennifer.fung@cqc.org.uk   

Alternatively, you can email regional.comms@cqc.org.uk     

Journalists wishing to speak to the press office outside of office hours can find out how to contact the team on the website.