Ealing and Northwick Park Hospitals Improve Emergency Care Ratings

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has upgraded urgent and emergency care services at Ealing Hospital and Northwick Park Hospital following improvements identified during inspections in July 2026.

Both hospitals are run by London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust. The focused inspections followed concerns raised during previous inspections, when both services breached regulations relating to dignity and safe care and treatment. Inspectors found that improvements had addressed these breaches.

At Ealing Hospital, the overall rating has improved from Requires Improvement to Good, while urgent and emergency care has also been upgraded to Good. End-of-life care remains rated Good.

At Northwick Park Hospital, urgent and emergency care and children and young people’s services have both improved from Requires Improvement to Good. End-of-life care remains Good, while the hospital’s overall rating is Requires Improvement.

The trust’s overall rating remains Requires Improvement.

At Northwick Park, CQC found that leaders had introduced an action plan addressing many of the issues identified previously. Staff used recognised assessment tools to identify deteriorating patients, sepsis and skin integrity concerns. However, inspectors noted that some documentation was not completed promptly, potentially delaying treatment.

Inspectors also found that staff in children’s services listened to safety concerns, investigated and reported incidents, and used lessons learned to improve practice. Children and young people received prescribed medication suited to their individual needs.

At Ealing, effective arrangements were in place to manage activity and patient flow, with established pathways supporting prompt assessment and directing people to appropriate services. CQC also found a strong commitment among staff and leaders to providing safe, high-quality care.

Across both hospitals, improvements included redesigned emergency departments, measures to maintain patient flow during busy periods and better arrangements to protect privacy and dignity. Ealing introduced waiting-area displays to keep people informed about waiting times, while Northwick Park introduced QR-code registration to help manage arrivals.

CQC also highlighted improvements in communication, including information in multiple languages and better access to real-time translation services. At Northwick Park, children and young people were directed promptly to the paediatric emergency department for assessment by specialist nurses.

Inspectors found that end-of-life care staff across the hospitals provided compassionate support, managed symptoms effectively and helped people maintain activities that mattered to them. At Ealing, staff also shared themes identified through incidents and concerns with education and palliative care teams to inform training and improve care.

CQC said it would continue monitoring the services to ensure improvements were sustained and people remained safe as further changes were made.

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