The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has today given North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) a trust-level rating of Good, following inspections of leadership and three core services between October 2024 and March 2025. 

CQC now gives NHS trusts a single trust-level rating focusing on leadership and culture that replaces all other ratings at a trust level. This simpler, more focused approach to rating NHS trusts reflects the strong correlation CQC has found between the quality of leadership at an organisation and the quality of care being delivered.

In the report, NELFT staff were praised for their interactions with patients, carers and colleagues who described them as kind, caring, understanding and supportive. 

Highlights from the inspection include: 

• Executive and board level changes have made senior leaders more visible and approachable, with staff valuing regular visits and a cultural shift across the Trust.
• The Trust’s Just and Compassionate programme was praised for promoting fairness and empathy, alongside strong co-production with patients, families and carers.
• Digital innovation and effective use of quality improvement (QI) were praised as key drivers of transformative change.
• Medical leadership needs strengthening with some medical staff reporting difficulties in contributing to decision-making. A review has begun to address this, though inspectors recognised it was at an early stage.

Paul Calaminus, Chief Executive of NELFT, said:

“We are pleased that the CQC has once again rated NELFT as Good and recognised the progress we have made on leadership, culture and innovation. This is thanks to the efforts of all our staff and many patients and carers, who have worked hard to improve our services." 

“The voices of our patients and their loved ones are central to the work we do, and we are committed to truly listening in order to take meaningful action that will shape the future of our services. We have heard both gratitude for compassionate care and frustration where care has not met expectations, underlining why we must always act with honesty, transparency and accountability to make sure we provide safe, high-quality, compassionate care for all.”

CQC inspected three services ahead of the review to ensure a thorough understanding of leadership of these services, provided by the Trust. 

Community health services for adults were praised for safe, inclusive and compassionate care, with strong safeguarding and personalised support, earning a rating of Good.

Specialist community mental health services for children and young people in Redbridge were commended for caring, respectful and supportive teams, with further work to do to improve waiting times for young people accessing services. The rating for these services remained as Requires Improvement.

Acute wards for adults of working age and psychiatric intensive care units were praised for committed staff and learning from incidents, with further work to do to ensure that all of those receiving care had physical healthcare plans in place, and to improve the recording of both restrictive practice interventions and observations. The rating for these services was Requires Improvement.

Wellington Makala, NELFT Executive Chief Nursing Officer, said:

“Providing safe, compassionate care with integrity is always our top priority, and I’m proud of our staff and the improvements that they have made since the last CQC inspection. We welcome the CQC’s findings and will act swiftly on the areas for improvement to reduce variation in standards and strengthen the quality of our services. We will continue to work closely with patients, carers and staff to ensure that every individual receives the high standard of care they deserve.”

Full details of the CQC report can be found here.