Urgent and emergency care services at Central Middlesex Hospital were rated good, however, Northwick Park Hospital and Ealing Hospital were again rated requires improvement.

While noting an ‘honest safety culture' across all three hospitals and that staff treated people kindly, the CQC highlighted long waits for some over 12 hours at Northwick Park and Ealing Hospitals with people cared for in temporary spaces such as corridors.

Chief executive Pippa Nightingale said: ‘We are extremely proud that both Central Middlesex Hospital and its urgent care service are now rated good.

‘We're also delighted that inspectors recognised that the service across all three hospitals has such a strong, supportive, and safety-focussed culture, and that they praised the compassionate and high-quality care provided by our teams.

‘It's a tribute to our teams that they have been able to make such impressive improvements in the face of unprecedented pressure on our emergency departments.'

LNWH said it had improved procedures so ensure patients always remain in sight of clinical staff with a ratio of one nurse caring for no more than five patients.

New private spaces for examinations and discussions have also been created to offer greater confidentiality, privacy and dignity for patients and the trust's Clinical Decision Unit has increased its capacity to improve waiting times to reduce the need for temporary escalation spaces.

In addition, a new discharge ready unit has been introduced to support patients ready to leave hospital but awaiting social care, as well as a new Older People's Short Stay Unit to provide specialist care to elderly patients earlier in their stay.

Nightingale acknowledged the need to do more to keep patients safe, commenting: ‘I'm confident that the actions we've taken will further improve the safety and experience of people who need emergency care.'