CQC ‘Good’ rating for Cheltenham General Hospital
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust welcomes the ‘Good’ rating for Medical Services at Cheltenham General Hospital, following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in July 2024.
The full report can be viewed on the CQC’s website from 30 May 2025.
The report published this week and means that both main hospitals in Gloucestershire are rated “Good”.
The timing of the inspection followed the successful completion of the Fit For the Future programme, which aimed to create Centres of Excellence at both hospitals, including Hyper Acute Stroke Unit and changes for the Acute Medical Take.
The CQC found that the leadership and management of our services demonstrated a strong safety culture, with leaders investigating incidents and sharing learning to promote good practice.
Staff felt supported, with their learning needs met through supervision, appraisal, and specialist training. Effective governance structures were in place to monitor the quality of care and ensure continuous improvement. Staff were encouraged to raise concerns and felt confident that these concerns would be addressed.
The CQC noted that staff worked effectively within a multidisciplinary team structure, and where appropriate included external bodies such as Healthwatch, local support networks, charities, and social care providers, to provide safe care that meets people's individual needs.
Feedback from patients was mostly positive, with many reporting they felt supported in making decisions about their care and treatment and that staff treated them with kindness, empathy, and compassion.
Some patients felt that their partners and loved ones were not always involved in conversations around rehabilitation and goal setting, which is something the services will work to improve. However, those who were involved felt very engaged in their care, which helped them make informed choices.
The CQC noted some areas for improvement:
- Some nursing vacancies on wards are being filled by temporary staff while recruitment continues:
- More specialist catheter training is needed for staff.
- Continue to involve patients and carers in decision-making about care.
- Improve communication with patients when a ward transfer is needed, and involve patients earlier about discharge and access to support services.
The inspection has also enabled the Trust to assess the impact of our Fit for the Future programme, which aimed to improve the quality of care and services and the positive rating means that both hospitals are now rated as "Good” by the CQC.