West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust

The Inspection visit took place on 11 February – 12 March 2020. 

This was the Trust’s fifth inspection since 2015, and the second inspection using our new methodology, whereby we inspect a selected number of core services, and include an inspection of the well-led key questions for the Trust overall. 

We completed and unannounced inspection of urgent and emergency care, medicine (including care for older adults) and surgery at the Watford General Hospital. Urgent and emergency care was previously rated as requires improvement in the February 2019 inspection. Surgery and Medicine were both rated as good in the February 2019 inspection. 

We also inspected medicine (including care for older adults) and the urgent care centre at Hemel Hempstead General Hospital. Medicine was last inspected in March 2017, when we rated it as inadequate. The service was transferred to another provider shortly after our last inspection and temporarily returned to the trust in October 2019. The urgent care centre was previously rated as requires improvement in our February 2019 inspection. 

The minor injuries unit at St Albans City Hospital was also inspected, having been rated as inadequate in February 2018. 

We inspected the well-led key question from 10 and 11 March 2020. This was the Trust’s second well-led inspection.