CQC reports ‘strong improvements’ for patients needing Emergency Care
Teams at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust have made 'strong improvements' for patients needing urgent and emergency care, according to the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
The CQC arrived for an unannounced inspection in October 2025 and praised staff for demonstrating a positive, compassionate culture with a strong focus on learning and teamworking. They reported finding 'strong improvements' and ‘meaningful progress’ which included better ambulance handover times and good multidisciplinary team working but also identified areas they remain concerned about. These included timely medical reviews, strengthening infection prevention and control practices, and improving privacy and dignity for people being cared for in overcrowded areas when demand exceeds physical capacity.
Read the report: UHP UEC REPORT for publication FINAL.pdf [pdf] 225KB
Chief Executive Neil Macdonald said: “We are pleased the CQC has recognised the hard work, commitment, and compassion shown by our teams at a time of sustained demand. Their dedication to improving services for patients is clear and I want to thank them for this. We are encouraged by the upgrades in key areas such as effectiveness and responsiveness but change on this scale takes time.
“We fully acknowledge the findings and know we have more work to do. We are continuing with our improvement plan and, prior to receiving the report, we had identified that this year, one of our six priorities will be to eliminate corridor care. We are committed to ensuring all patients receive safe, timely, and dignified care.”
The Trust will now work on making further improvements and to address longstanding capacity challenges, construction is underway on a new, purpose-built Emergency Care Building with two large cranes outside the main entrance. Staff have played an important role in shaping the design of the new building which will open in 2029. While the building will take several years to complete, it represents a significant step toward creating the space, privacy, and modern clinical environment patients and staff deserve.
The role of the public
Our Urgent and Emergency Care team at Derriford Hospital are part of a bigger response team working hard to meet patient needs. There are things the public can do to help. We would encourage everyone seeking urgent care to Help Us Help You by Thinking NHS 111 and either calling or going online: https://111.nhs.uk/
Ends
Background information
UHP is among the most improved hospital trusts in the country for performance against the 4 hour standard as a result of having:
- Opened a new Urgent Treatment Centre in the Dartmoor Building which sees up to 150 patients daily
- Created more space to see and treat patients on the same day (Same Day Emergency Care), including an Oncology SDEC service for patients with cancer. 1 in 4 of the patients who come to the Emergency Department are streamed to Same Day services where they are treated
- Invested in an award-winning x-ray car service and other community services so patients can be seen and treated in their own home
- Opened 2 virtual wards including, working with Livewell Southwest, a specialist Community Frailty Virtual Ward
- Opened more hot clinics so patients who attend the Emergency Department but who are well enough to return to a specialist clinic the next day can do so
Ongoing work to further improve includes:
- Investing in further alternative services so people can receive urgent care and not have to come to the Emergency Department and be admitted. This includes more specialist Same Day Emergency Care for patients with respiratory and neurological conditions.
- Creating better assessment space for walk-in patients in the Emergency Department with the MAG-PI project, led by one of our senior nurses
- Working to eliminate corridor care and better protect patients’ privacy and dignity
- Focusing on discharging more patients earlier in the day (before lunch) so we have beds for new patients who arrive as emergencies or who need planned operations and treatment
- Investing in a new £250 million 17,000m2 Emergency Care Building at the front of Derriford Hospital which will open in 2029 (shown below)
