Among the main priorities of our country’s populace are employment, affordable housing, public safety, and of course, healthcare. That’s why the quality of your nearby medical services is so critical. Whether that means yourself or your family seeing a GP more quickly, being tended to more efficiently when it comes to referrals, or having a more pleasant and clean stay in a hospital ward, our healthcare system should remain robust and responsive. Sadly, some medical facilities across the county struggle to meet that important standard.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator responsible for lifting standards of healthcare upwards across the UK. Conducting audits and inspections of medical centres, doctor’s surgeries, and dentist practices, the regulatory body assesses a number of important aspects such as infection control, patient care, and overall management. Despite many locations passing their audits comfortably, others suffer from prolonged problems, such as increased demand or poor facility hygiene.
That’s where Vanguard comes in – with over two decades of medical cleaning expertise, we’ve deployed our services for countless medical practices to help them pass their CQC inspections. Our cleaning staff are trained rigorously, with instruction underwritten by the British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc), giving them the full range of professional expertise needed to clean a broad spectrum of areas, such as receptions, waiting rooms, and consultation areas.
In Vanguard’s latest healthcare report, we’ll look at medical services across the West Midlands. We’ll outline which towns and settlements have the worst-rated healthcare services as determined by the CQC, and explore what that could mean for local residents.
Medical facilities across the West Midlands are generally rated positively, with 80.3% of services receiving either Outstanding or Good ratings. On the other hand, that means 19.7% of services (or almost 1 in 5) services are rated negatively, which is undoubtedly a worrying figure for those living nearby. The implied chance of West Midlands residents receiving below-average healthcare is therefore approximately 20%, something just a shade away from becoming widespread.
However, there is an important caveat here. Most of the poorly rated services (18.6% of the total number) were rated as Requires Improvement, meaning that after some adjustments are made to their service delivery, these figures may yet improve. What is significantly more concerning, however, is the small number of services (1.1%) that were rated Inadequate, which signifies more foundational problems with a practice. Patients of such services would understandably feel concerned about their long-term healthcare prospects.
Despite the overwhelming majority of services (80.3%) being rated positively, comparatively few of those (3.1%) have been given the CQC’s distinguished rating of Outstanding. The implication is, that while many services are running adequately, they may not be performing at their peak, or implementing best practice in every area that they could. For those reasons, improvements are needed across the board to improve the overall healthcare performance of the West Midlands medical infrastructure.
Whether you’re inquiring into your future healthcare prospects, or if you’re simply interested in how your area ranks, then see our list below for the 15 worst areas for healthcare in the West Midlands.
The famed namesake of the wider county, Warwick’s history and heritage is well-documented, with the nearby castle acting as a key landmark across hundreds of years of history, while the neighbouring town of Royal Leamington Spa has since sprung up in the shade of that legacy. Unfortunately, healthcare in the area is significantly less impressive, with 16.9% of healthcare services being found below standard.
That figure ultimately breaks down to 6 Outstanding services, 63 Good services, and 14 services rated as Requires Improvement.
As the only major settlement in Herefordshire, the town itself has a long and intriguing history. From first being chartered by King Richard I of England, to growing into a thriving market town, to housing the former base of the renowned British Special Air Service (SAS), Hereford is a noteworthy town. Beyond those accolades, however, healthcare is performing poorly, with 16.9% of services requiring important improvements.
Despite that unfortunate statistic, only 59 out of 140 services have yet been rated, meaning we only have a limited view of healthcare quality in the area. This does open the door for possible improvements further down the line, however.
As Staffordshire’s largest and most recognisable city, Stoke-on-Trent is an icon of West Midlands culture. The spiritual home of pottery and fine ceramics across the UK, the city boasts a broad appeal to the Northerners and Midlanders alike who call it home, while the cluster of surrounding large towns make it truly unique. Even so, healthcare in the area appears to be struggling, with 17.1% of medical services failing their most recent CQC inspections.
Among the 37 total services that are rated negatively in the area, 1 location has received the infamous rating of Inadequate.
Perched just miles from the urban built-up area of Birmingham, Kidderminster lies just to the east of the River Severn, while the smaller River Stour runs directly through the settlement. As the origin of the modern carpet industry in England, Kidderminster celebrates this distinction with a carpet-themed museum in the centre of town. Despite this, healthcare in the town could use some work, with 17.6% of nearby practices being found below par.
A total of 12 services have been rated poorly in the nearby area, compared to 53 Good ratings and 3 Outstanding ratings.
Two smaller settlements located along the M5 motorway, Bromsgrove & Catshill are part of rural Worcestershire. Both towns have a strong industrial heritage, manufacturing simple materials like cloth and nails, instead of some of the more complex products of nearby industrial towns. Regardless, their healthcare services are far from perfect, with 18% of nearby medical facilities lacking in key aspects.
While the towns may benefit from 2 services rated as Outstanding, that is largely offset by a further 2 services rated Inadequate.
In a slightly odd turn of events, Nuneaton earned its name from a medieval nunnery that was established nearby. From there, the town developed into a thriving market settlement, with important industries eventually coming to include coal mining and ribbon weaving. Together with nearby Bedworth, the modern healthcare of this area leaves a lot to be desired, with 18.8% of local practices coming in below expectations.
That percentage translates across to 0 Outstanding ratings, 91 Good ratings, 20 Requires Improvement ratings, and 1 Inadequate rating.
Only 14km from Welsh border, Shrewsbury remains an unapologetically English settlement. From being the birthplace of Charles Darwin, to the Norman Abbey and Castle that stand on opposite sides of the River Severn, Shrewsbury has made significant contributions to local culture and commerce. Sadly, this is not reflected in the area’s healthcare, with 20.3% of the nearby surgeries underperforming on their most recent CQC audit.
Despite that less-than-perfect score, the town does boast a total of 6 facilities with Outstanding ratings, indicating a mixed bag of quality across the area.
One of the West Midlands’ – nay, the countries – most renowned cities, Coventry has innumerable draws for homeowners and businesspeople alike. With an illustrious history as one of the longest-standing large settlements in the country (and almost reduced to the ground during the blitz), Coventry stands today as an icon of the West Midlands. Healthcare in Coventry is not-so impressive, however, with 20.5% of services requiring improvements.
With a substantial 44 practices rated as Requires Improvement, and a further 3 facilities given an Inadequate rating, residents could hardly be blamed for feeling concerned about their healthcare.
Surrounding the beautiful Cannock Chase National Landscape lie a number of smaller settlements, not least among them Cannock itself and Burntwood. These twin towns are former mining settlements, benefiting greatly from their proximity to the Black Country, before slowly converting to a more service and residential based economy. In any case, healthcare remains a prolonged problem in Cannock & Burntwood, with 20.7% of services found below required CQC standards.
That encapsulates a total of 28 services rated poorly, while 102 locations were rated as Good, and 5 practices as Outstanding.
The UK’s second capital, Birmingham is world-renowned for its commercial, industrial, artistic, cultural, and technological contributions to the country. Boasting a range of attractions, from enormous retail parks and convention centres to the upper echelons of English football and a bustling nightlife, Birmingham is certainly the place to be. The primary exception might be healthcare, as the city suffers from 21.6% of its local services failing their recent CQC inspections.
That figure translates to a whopping 122 services rated as Requires Improvement, and 11 locations rated as Inadequate.
Just a short distance from the other major cities in the West Midlands region, Wolverhampton is home to everything from one of the oldest football teams in England, to a flourishing economy with its roots in wool making, coal mining, steel manufacturing, engineering, and even aerospace. Beyond that, healthcare seems to be coming under increasing strain in the surrounding area, with 21.7% of local services performing poorly.
That figure amounts to 53 Requires Improvement ratings and 3 Inadequate ratings, compared to just 202 positive ratings.
Resting on the banks of the River Severn as it weaves its journey through Shropshire, Telford is one of the county’s largest settlements. Notably, the town is sandwiched between two areas of natural beauty, giving idyllic views to residents and visitors alike. What doesn’t paint such a positive picture, however, is the area’s healthcare, with 21.8% of local practices and surgeries receiving below-satisfactory ratings.
That breaks down to 1 Outstanding rating, 60 Good ratings, 16 Requires Improvement ratings, and 1 Inadequate rating.
Moving to the northern edge of the Birmingham built-up area, Walsall is part of the renowned Black Country, a coal-rich area that led to an industrial boom across the 18th and 19th centuries. Now, Walsall stands as one of the largest shopping destinations in the region, particularly useful for those looking to indulge in a bit of retail therapy. That may be wise given that among the nearby healthcare services, 22.4% require serious improvements.
With a total of 59 facilities rated as Requires Improvement, and 4 services rated as Inadequate, local patients will no doubt have substantial concerns about their healthcare.
Primarily dominated by an expansive city park, the town of Sutton Coldfield exists as a suburb on the northern edge of Birmingham. Sutton Park itself encompasses a number of smaller lakes and pools, as well as playing fields, delightful eateries, and quaint walking paths, providing residents with a place to relax and unwind. That may grow critical, as the local medical services are performing poorly, with 22.6% falling below expectations.
This is no doubt exasperated by the shocking 5 nearby services that were rated as Inadequate in their last CQC inspection.
The capital of the Black Country, Dudley is often considered the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, developing strong coal, iron, and limestone industries. Since the de-industrialisation of the area, Dudley has turned to a more service-based economy, bringing in a steady stream of tourists for its zoo, castle and ancient ruins. Officially the worst area in the West Midlands for healthcare, 27.3% of Dudley’s total service count was found to be below required expectations.
That encompasses over 100 services given a Requires Improvement rating, and a total of 4 services rated as Inadequate.
Vanguard is committed to transparent and objective reporting when it comes to healthcare, so we are clear that we retrieve our data straight from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website. This allows us to search across a number of towns and settlements in the West Midlands to discover how many medical services were rated as Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, and Inadequate. From that information, we can then calculate the percentage of negatively rated services in each location to put together an overview of healthcare in the area.
In most areas, a portion of the local medical services have not yet been rated, so we exclude these from our calculations. Additionally, some smaller villages have too few rated services (50 or below) to gain a good sample, so we also exclude these locations from our rankings. To ensure a full assessment of each area, we examine all services in a 5-mile radius, encapsulating all relevant facilities in the vicinity. As the UK is a highly urban area, there will naturally be some crossover between settlements. For example, Sandwell General Hospital will serve residents of both Dudley and Walsall, and is therefore included in the healthcare radius of both areas.
