Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Chesterfield Royal Hospital is a hospital of the British National Health Service (NHS) that operates as a foundation trust (NHS Foundation Trust). Its activity is organised around hospital and outpatient care, with services aimed at patients, visitors and carers, and a governance structure typical of an NHS trust.

Care services

The hospital offers outpatient clinics and outpatient appointment management, with information on what to bring to an appointment and how to change it. It has maternity services, with pregnancy, labour and birth and baby feeding follow-up, and a neonatal unit. For younger people it has the Children's Ward (Nightingale Ward), children's and newborn hearing services, the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) and a paediatric emergency department.

Maternity care is complemented by resources such as Derbyshire Maternity and Neonatal Voices, an independent NHS committee made up of volunteers, parents, midwives, healthcare professionals and representatives.

Patient care and support

The centre offers patients the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) and the Patient Experience Team, along with chaplaincy and spiritual and pastoral care services. It also provides information on infection prevention and control, the Friends and Family Test and the Patient Hub, with frequently asked questions and waiting list validation.

For visitors and carers, the hospital publishes visiting advice if you feel unwell, a service to contact wards and a form for unpaid carers to identify themselves as such, as well as the carer survey and the Herbert Protocol.

Research, teaching and employment

The trust carries out training and research activity: it hosts apprenticeship programmes, work experience in medical, nursing, midwifery, healthcare science and non-clinical areas, as well as allied health professional placements and T-Levels. It also has undergraduate medical education and job descriptions for foundation doctors.

In the employment field, the hospital publishes current vacancies, information for new starters, accommodation, health and wellbeing and development programmes, and an internal staff app. It has a volunteering programme and a welcome programme for international colleagues, with specific information for internationally educated nurses and allied health professionals, including aspects such as the General Medical Council (GMC), medical indemnity insurance and prescribing in Derbyshire.

Governance and participation

The organisation has a Board of Directors, with executive and non-executive directors, and a Council of Governors made up of public, partner and staff governors. It publishes its strategy, values, annual reports, the CQC rating and meeting and minutes documentation. Trust members can take part in planning health services and in representing the needs of the local community.

The hospital also maintains its own charity, Chesterfield Royal Hospital Charity, which channels donations and support for patients, families and staff, with initiatives such as the wish list for younger patients and the Charity Corporate Champions Club.

News and awards

Among the news items on the site are the expansion of the Community Diagnostic Centre at Walton Hospital (September 2026) and the Good rating awarded by the Care Quality Commission to the medical care services at Chesterfield Royal Hospital, which improves on the previous rating of Requires Improvement (September 2026). Changes to the Women's Health Unit from 14 September are also reported.

Accessibility and digital environment

The trust's website includes accessibility tools, text size and contrast adjustment, as well as information on getting here, car parking, food and drink, patient information leaflets and a payments section. The NHS App is presented as a way to securely access health information as a patient of the hospital.