CQC rates urgent and emergency care at King’s Mill Hospital as Good

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated urgent and emergency care at King’s Mill Hospital as Good following an inspection in March.

During the same inspection, the CQC also re-rated the hospital’s medical care service as Good. The overall rating for King’s Mill Hospital remains Good.

King’s Mill Hospital, operated by Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, provides acute hospital services for people across north Nottinghamshire and parts of Derbyshire and Lincolnshire. The inspection was carried out without notice as part of the CQC’s ongoing monitoring of healthcare services.

Inspectors found that people receiving urgent and emergency care reported positive experiences, with staff described as helpful, friendly and kind. The report also noted that Friends and Family Test results collected between December 2025 and February 2026 showed that 82% of people were satisfied with the care they received.

The CQC found that staff worked effectively across departments and with external organisations, including mental health services, community teams and the local ambulance service, to support coordinated care. Inspectors also reported a positive safety culture, with incidents being investigated to identify learning and improvements.

Although demand across the wider health system continued to affect waiting times, inspectors found that the trust was developing services to respond to changing local healthcare needs.

In the medical care service, inspectors observed staff treating people with kindness, compassion and respect. Staff were seen supporting people with mental health needs appropriately and ensuring sensitive conversations took place in private. The report also highlighted effective teamwork, helping people avoid repeating their medical history as they moved between services.

The inspection identified some areas requiring improvement. In the urgent and emergency department, inspectors found a waiting area that did not have call bells for people to request assistance. The trust installed call bells the following day.

In medical care, inspectors found that people were not always monitored closely enough after receiving sedation, creating a risk that changes in breathing or heart rate might not be detected promptly. Following the inspection, the trust began a review of its practice and introduced additional staff training.

The CQC has also published a report relating to an inspection of the hospital’s urgent and emergency care service carried out in September 2024. The findings and rating from the March inspection now replace that earlier report.

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