INSIDE SUTTON: Issues around safety and leadership, plus accusations of bullying, see Sutton’s NHS hospital downgraded to ‘Requires improvement’ after latest CQC inspection. CARL SHILTON reports
Under a cloud: the CQC inspectors found a number of troubling issues at St Helier
Staff reported bullying and discrimination from leaders in the surgery services at St Helier, “which could undermine staff morale and safe care”, according to a Care Quality Commission inspection report on Sutton’s large NHS hospital.
Assessed together with Queen Mary’s Hospital for Children, which is located on the same Wrythe Lane site, St Helier has been rated “Good” under categories effective, caring and responsive. However, it has again been rated “Requires improvement” for safe and the CQC lowered its rating for well-led from “Good” to “Requires improvement” following the inspection, which was carried out in December.
“Bullying” at St Helier is mentioned nine times in the CQC report, which was published today.
The inspectors also visited Epsom Hospital, which is in the same NHS Trust as St Helier. Overall, the Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust remain rated “Good”.
Today, responding to the CQC report, one St Helier medic told Inside Sutton: “I’m not surprised that bullying gets a prominent mention, simply because of the immense pressure we’re constantly working under… We’re short of everything here. Staff, space… everything. And we’re also short of patience.”
The latest CQC inspection looked at specific areas of the hospitals’ care, covering surgery, medical care, and urgent and emergency services. Additionally there were focused inspections of maternity services in respect of safety and leadership.
Rated ‘Good’: Epsom Hospital impressed the inspectors somewhat more
Epsom retained its “Good” rating for surgery and medical care. Maternity services were moved from “Requires improvement” to “Good”, despite not all staff receiving the correct triage training. Emergency services remained as “Requires improvement”.
Epsom Hospital remains rated “Good” under effective, caring, responsive and well-led categories, and its safe rating has improved to “Good” from “Requires improvement”.
The inspectors found that staff at both hospitals were “working exceptionally hard to meet people’s needs, even in difficult circumstances, though the emergency departments remained under high pressure”.
There were some serious issues raised by the inspectors.
A separate report published today shows that nearly 3,000 patients a day are receiving care and treatment in hospital corridors, instead of in a bed on a ward – around 3% to 4% of patients coming into hospital in England via A&E.
The CQC report found a similarly troubling situation at St Helier.
“Staff in the emergency departments had to care for many people in spaces not designed for it, such as corridors… these spaces raised the risk that someone could deteriorate unnoticed,” said Antoinette Smith, the CQC deputy director of London hospitals.
“Most leaders understood these risks and were focused on reducing them, but their interventions hadn’t always worked. We saw people with complex needs being cared for in these spaces, which was against the Trust’s guidance.”
The emergency departments at St Helier didn’t have enough facilities or staff to safely accommodate people with mental health needs, resulting in long delays while waiting transfer to appropriate services.
The inspectors identified a number of other weaknesses. At St Helier, they found bullying was common. Most staff, says the CQC, felt well-supported by immediate managers, but some felt “disconnected” from senior leaders, especially in the emergency departments.
The report noted that a Trust-wide staff survey showed 24% of white staff and 22% of staff from other ethnic groups had experienced harassment, bullying or abuse from other staff members during the previous year. In surgery at St Helier, staff raised concerns about bullying and discrimination but “some felt hesitant to speak up”.
St Helier’s “safe” rating was an area for particular concern.
“We checked that people were safe and protected from bullying, harassment, avoidable harm, neglect, abuse and discrimination… the rating has remained ‘Requires improvement’. This meant some aspects of the service were not always safe and there was limited assurance about safety.
“There was an increased risk that people could be harmed.”
Leaders were predominantly characterised as “approachable and supportive”, and staff generally felt encouraged to join in improvement initiatives.
Latest ratings: the CQC report was released this morning, a full six months after the inspection was conducted
Some responses were not so good. “Some feedback highlighted concerns about inclusivity and fairness in some areas. One staff member told us of discriminatory behaviour by certain senior staff, including failure to respect staff with disabilities and protected characteristics in theatres… other members of staff raised concerns about bullying on surgical wards,” the report states.
“These challenges were compounded by the perception that senior management tended to support one another and shield each other from scrutiny.”
There were some positive trends.
The proportion of staff recommending the Trust as a place to work increased by 3.5% to 60.9%, with work-life balance also improving by two points to 53.9%.
In 2025, Inside Sutton reported that the promised new “Boris” hospital in Belmont had been delayed by at least seven years, leading to dire warnings from the St Helier Trust’s senior management. “This is devastating news for our patients,” said the deputy CEO of the Trust, Dr James Marsh. Dr Marsh made it clear that the clinicians wanted the new specialist emergency care hospital backed by a refurbished St Helier.
Today, Inside Sutton spoke this morning to a medic at St Helier about the CQC findings. They were happy to be quoted, but wished to remain anonymous.
“I’m not surprised that bullying gets a prominent mention, simply because of the immense pressure we’re constantly working under,” they said.
“To me, it doesn’t feel ingrained at the sharp end. Sometimes the urgent need to get things done can lead to short tempers and abruptness which can then be perceived as something else. There’s a bit of gallows humour. We’re short of everything here. Staff, space… everything. And we’re also short of patience.
“My personal view is that the staff are brilliant, and patients really appreciate what we’re doing, but there will always be dissenting voices in such a challenging environment, from both staff and patients. We’re performing our best under extreme pressure.
“We still need a new hospital and all that investment promised by politicians. Outcomes should drive us. Not having that investment makes us angry and frustrated. Without that, we’re just firefighting.”
- Read the full CQC inspection report on St Helier Hospital and Queen Marys Hospital for Children here
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