- NHS hospital
Macclesfield District General Hospital
Report from 29 April 2025 assessment
Contents
Ratings - Urgent and emergency services
Our view of the service
Date of assessment 29 April to 10 September 2025. We conducted an on-site, comprehensive assessment visit of urgent and emergency care services on 8 to 10 July and 8 September 2025 in response to concerns around safe care and treatment.
We rated the service as Requires Improvement. We found breaches of 5 of the legal regulations in relation to safe care and treatment, staffing, complaints, duty of candour and person-centred care.
Key issues included staffing in the paediatric emergency department, the management of mental health patients and completion of mental health risk assessments were not always robust, staff did not consistently follow best practices for infection prevention and control and complaint and duty of candour responses were not always timely.
The service fostered a positive learning culture with thorough investigations and shared improvements. Care was person-centred, with patients involved in decisions and information provided in accessible formats. Systems supported access to treatment, but high demand and limited bed capacity led to delays and overcrowding. Despite these challenges, the service maintained its commitment to partnership working and continuous improvement.
We requested an action plan following publication of the final report.
People's experience of this service
Most patients, families and carers we spoke with were positive about the staff, who treated them with warmth and kindness and provided effective care and treatment. Comments from patients included: ‘staff are doing the best they can’ and “the care I have received has been good despite the wait time’. Patients said communication with them was good and they were kept informed of their care and treatment.
Patients said they were seen quickly by trained nursing staff when they arrived and were asked appropriate questions to find out more about why they had attended the ED. Records we reviewed showed patients were given the tests they needed and this was usually prompt. Although care was being delivered in non-clinical areas (corridor care), we observed staff interacting with patients in these areas and staff apologised to patients for delays.