The Northern Care Alliance NHS Trust has received another negative report, the latest collection of healthcare inspections show. The trust, which runs Salford Royal Hospital, Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary and Fairfield Hospital in Bury, is embroiled in industrial action and has come under fire after its own board papers revealed dozens of patients died or 'came to harm' due to treatment delays and serious errors made by staff working under extreme pressure.
The latest inspection by healthcare watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) covered surgical services at Salford Royal and follows a warning notice issued in October 2025. Inspectors found 12 breaches of legal regulations, including regarding safe care and treatment, governance and staffing. However, they said improvements had been made that mean the service is considered to be complying with the warning notice.
Surgical Services Still Under Pressure
Surgical services are still suffering from staff shortages and low employee confidence, while cancelled care remains a concern, the report showed. Some 501 operations were cancelled for non-clinical reasons on the day of surgery between September 2025 and May 2026. The most frequent reasons included list overruns due to the complexity of procedures (115) and unavailable ward beds (105).
Staff said pre-operative assessments were sometimes unavailable or incomplete, leading to delays and cancellations. A reduction in pre-operative staff also increased the number of delays. Some 79 incidents were reported between September 2025 and May 2026 related to staff shortages, most of which were because of cancelled non-emergency procedures.
Some staff reported issues around bullying and harassment, spoke negatively about the support they received from line managers, and said they still felt reluctant to raise concerns because they feared these would be dismissed or lead to punitive actions from senior leaders. A reduced number of violent or aggressive incidents towards staff by patients had been reported following implementation of a new collaborative, however.
Training Gaps and Positive Feedback
There had not been any significant improvement relating to patient length of stay, readmissions following surgery and around patient discharge processes, inspectors continued. Additional concerns were raised over staff training, with gaps in life support training compliance and just 12.8pc of staff completing dementia training.
Patients and relatives spoke positively about staff, however. People said they felt 'comfortable' asking for help and said they responded promptly.
NCA deputy chief nursing officer Karen Coverley said the trust was pleased the CQC had found improvements and had rated the service 'good' for caring. She added: "The CQC noted we’ve sufficiently met the requirements of the warning notice they issued us last year and that we’ve made progress in areas, including staffing arrangements on wards, safeguarding, patient safety processes, surgical safety compliance and the management of deteriorating patients. The safety and quality of care for our patients remains our absolute priority and we will keep our full focus on the improvement we know we still need to do."
Other Inspection Results Across Greater Manchester
Apollo Care Central Manchester, in Ardwick, received a 'good' rating from inspectors. The homecare support service always treated people with kindness and compassion and worked 'closely' with families to ensure care reflected what 'mattered most' to the person, the CQC noted. Service users and their relatives felt they were listened to, supported safely and 'felt confident' staff understood how to protect them from harm. Assessments were 'detailed' and 'person-centred' and updated when needs changed, with staff adapting support accordingly.
Middleton Health Centre, in Limetrees Road, received the week’s only 'outstanding' rating. Inspectors praised the GP for its 'proactive and positive culture of safety', adding it acted to support those who might not be engaging with healthcare services. This included home visits to understand barriers people faced and to build trusting relationships. Staff had found 'innovative ways' of delivering more joined-up care and support, the report added.
Newbury Green Medical Practice, in Rigby Street, was another service to receive a 'good' rating. The GP was judged to offer safe care in a 'visibly clean' environment. The service 'actively supported' patients to improve their health through community-based initiatives. Around 200 referrals had been made and these contributed positively to patient outcomes, including supporting a homeless person to secure stable accommodation. Around 92pc of patients responding to a national survey felt staff were 'good' at treating them with care and concern. However, there were gaps in training and recruitment documents for some staff, including basic life support training and incomplete identity checks.
My Recovery Tameside, in Ashton-under-Lyne, was also rated 'good' for its community-based substance misuse services. The setting created spaces where people could be themselves and speak openly about their challenges and successes, inspectors noted. People said staff were 'knowledgeable' and went 'above and beyond', including supporting them with other agencies they were involved with, such as housing and social care. When people disengaged unexpectedly from the service, policies were in place to ensure staff made 'every effort' to bring them back.
