A hospital where Princess Eugenie received treatment for a spinal injury has been criticised for not being 'fit for purpose' and 'requires improvement' after a recent inspection was carried out.

The Stanmore based, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH) under went an inspection in May by health watchdog, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), resulting in an overall 'requires improvement' result.

The chief inspector of hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards said: "The outpatient services and children and young people's services requires improvement."

The report rewarded the hospital an 'outstanding' for providing caring and effective care but required improvement for the services to be safe, responsive and well-led.

Chief executive of the RNOH, Rob Hurd said: “The CQC recognised that the Stanmore estate, whilst safe, is not fit for purpose as it does not provide an adequate environment to care for and treat our patients. This is not new.

"The Trust has been seeking support for the redevelopment of the hospital at Stanmore for decades with successive reviews and visits stating, at times, amazement that we continue to provide high quality patient care in such a poor estate”.

The hospital has promised it is doing extensive work on the Stanmore site, in recent months it has delivered a new MRI suite and a children’s High Dependency Unit, with plans for new family accommodation in 2014/15.

HOSPITAL: Chief Executive of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH), Rob Hurd.

Mr Hurd added: “We accept that there are areas that need improvement, in particular our estate and assurance processes, to ensure that the RNOH continues to provide outstanding care and effective outcomes for our patients. We are disappointed with the CQC rating of 'requires improvement'.

"Work is already underway to address the areas of improvement highlighted by the CQC and we are confident that we can gain an overall good rating to fulfil our ambitions to rebuild the Stanmore site and gain Foundation Trust status. We have, therefore, agreed to a prompt re-inspection before the end of the year.”

Princess Eugenie, 24, was diagnosed at 12-years-old with scoliosis, curvature of the spine. She underwent an eight hour operation on her spine and spent three days in intensive care at RNOH before making a full recovery.

MP for Harrow East, Bob Blackman said: “It is not surprising that most of the services at the hospital have been rated as outstanding, but this report demonstrates why it is vital that the redevelopment of the facilities at Stanmore proceeds without delay so that decent facilities are provided to complement the world-class treatment on offer.”