Media release: Follow-up inspection report for Forth Valley Royal Hospital, NHS Forth Valley
Healthcare Improvement Scotland today (Tuesday 23 June) published a report relating to an unannounced follow-up inspection visit to Forth Valley Royal Hospital, NHS Forth Valley. The inspection took place on 16 – 18 March, 2026.
This inspection is part of a series of targeted unannounced Safe Delivery of Care follow-up inspections of all NHS boards previously inspected. The focus of the follow-up inspections is to check progress on the NHS board’s previous inspection requirements and subsequent improvement action plans.
We carried out two unannounced Safe Delivery of Care inspections at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in 2022, identifying concerns about patient safety and the quality of care. On both occasions, we formally requested assurance from NHS Forth Valley and escalated our concerns to Scottish Government in line with our Operating Framework. A further follow-up inspection in January 2024 found that eight of the 17 previous requirements had been met, nine were partially met, and 12 new requirements were made.
We undertook a further unannounced follow-up inspection of Forth Valley Royal Hospital in March 2026 to assess progress made and returned on 7 April to follow up on a number of potential patient safety concerns that were highlighted.
Speaking of the reports, Donna Maclean, Chief Inspector, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, said:
“We observed staff working hard to deliver patient-centred care. Staff described a visible senior hospital management team and felt able to raise concerns.
“Patients and relatives were complimentary about their care and the staff providing it. Despite increased hospital capacity, the areas inspected were calm and well-led with teams working together to provide compassionate care.
“We observed improvements to the management of mealtimes, maintenance of the healthcare environment and the cleanliness of patient care equipment.”
Chief Inspector, Healthcare Improvement Scotland
Areas for improvement identified included improved compliance with paediatric immediate life support training, patient dignity and privacy, fire risk assessments and processes, safe storage of medicines and the safe storage of cleaning products and management of waste.
This follow-up inspection resulted in two areas of good practice, one recommendation and seven new or updated requirements. Four previous requirements were not met and have been carried forward.
An improvement action plan has been developed by NHS Forth Valley in order to meet the requirements.
The full inspection report is available to view at:
Ends
Notes to editor
This report is part of Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s programme of inspections and reviews.
Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s statutory role is to help improve the quality of health and care, provide information to the public about the quality of health and care services, monitor public involvement, and to evaluate and provide advice on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of medicines and health technologies.