Source · CQC inspection
Whipps Cross University Hospital
Provider Barts Health NHS Trust
Type NHS Healthcare Organisation
Region London
Last inspected 17 Oct 2025
Overall rating: Requires Improvement View full CQC report
Domain ratings
Safe
Requires Improvement
Effective
Good
Caring
Good
Responsive
Requires Improvement
Well-led
Requires Improvement
Current CQC assessment
Requires Improvement
The service is not performing as well as it should and we have told the service how it must improve.
Ratings by service
Diagnostic imaging
Requires Improvement
Urgent and emergency services
Requires Improvement
Regulatory breaches & enforcement
Warning notice
Overall
The purpose of the assessment was to follow up on the warning notice served under Section 29A of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 which was issued to the service following our assessment in July 2024.
Warning notice
Overall
We issued a warning notice to the trust as we felt there were areas which required significant improvement.
Breaches identified (1)
Breach
Safe
We found 3 breaches of the regulations in relation to safe care and treatment, premises and equipment and good governance.
Earlier inspection findings
Must-do actions (1)
Must-do action 1 of 1
Must do
Well-led
Leaders must ensure that GAP Grow pathways reflect national guidance and that staff were trained to use the pathway and practice is monitored.
Should-do actions (10)
Should-do action 1 of 10
Should do
Safe
The service should ensure planned and actual staffing levels are met throughout the service.
Should-do action 2 of 10
Should do
Safe
The service should ensure that there is adequate skill mix and that there is always a supernumerary labour ward shift co-ordinator.
Should-do action 3 of 10
Should do
Safe
The service should ensure that they make the implementation of centralised cardiotocograph (CTG) monitoring a priority in line with national guidance.
Should-do action 4 of 10
Should do
Safe
The service should ensure that they monitor the use of the triage tool once implemented to embed practice.
Should-do action 5 of 10
Should do
Safe
The service should ensure that all community midwives are given time to complete their mandatory training.
Should-do action 6 of 10
Should do
Safe
The service should ensure that that pharmacy provision for maternity is increased to seven days a week
Should-do action 7 of 10
Should do
Well-led
Leaders should ensure that all staff receive their annual appraisal.
Should-do action 8 of 10
Should do
Safe
The trust should consider introducing newborn RAG rated risk assessments for all babies, which include maternal history, length of labour, mode of delivery, and type of infant feeding. Risk assessments should include a plan of care for the first 24 hours of life for all babies.
Should-do action 9 of 10
Should do
Well-led
The service should consider recording planned actions and timeframes for all Perinatal Mortality Reviews Summary Reports, serious incident reviews and Risk register reports.
Should-do action 10 of 10
Should do
Safe
The service should consider monitoring the use of the SBAR tool to make sure that staff complete the assessment and risk aspects of the tool.