St Helier Hospital & Queen Mary’s Hospital for Children fell from “good” to “requires improvement”, with surgery and leadership downgraded despite some service improvements.
Inspectors found sustained pressure in emergency departments, including long waits, corridor care, and staffing issues across both sites.
The wider trust remains rated “good” and will continue to be monitored by the CQC.
Alex Shaw, Interim Managing Director for Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We are pleased that the CQC’s overall rating reflects our safe and compassionate care, and are very proud of our maternity teams for the hard work they have done to drive significant improvements since the last inspection.
“We are addressing areas where we need to go further, such as improving patient experience during periods of increased pressure, including directing more patients to our Urgent Treatment Centre, which is already seeing a reduction in corridor care and length of stay.”
