Princess Royal Hospital Ward 4 (Gastroenterology) - Enter and View Visit Report

Report - 2 December 2016

The purpose of the visit was to understand how patients were treated with dignity, have privacy respected in a hospital environment, and ask patients about their views and experiences of the wards services.

Summary

We wanted to learn about:

Patients experiences of care, and understand how patient dignity is being respected in the Hospital environment
Relatives/visitors experiences, and any ideas they may have for change
Observe relatives/visitors engaging with the staff and their surroundings
examples of good working and care practice

Key Findings

At the time of our visit to Ward 4, we received no evidence of patient dignity not being respected
Most Relatives told us that their family member was well cared for by staff and there were good interactions between staff and patients, even though staff were very busy
Patients and relatives found the ward was clean and tidy, however the corridor to the Ward was cluttered with a metal cage, trolley, and other items
Most Patients felt the food was good, and menus offered a good range and choices
Patients felt the ward was generally calm, though some indicated that patients with dementia caused noise at night, and can keep some other patients awake or disturb their sleep. Patients had not been informed about the availability on request of ear plugs and eye masks to aid sleep
Relatives indicated that visiting times are not always clearly communicated to the patient or relatives/visitors
Staff and some relatives informed us that car parking can present issues for both staff and visitors
Staff are very busy in their shifts, and sometimes shifts are not fully resourced. Regular staff work load has been further negatively impacted, on occasions, by the lack of skills/capabilities of agency staff replacements. Sometimes there is a lack of ‘ad hoc’ support staffing available to the night shift which impacts care for dementia patients, and thus other patients. Though patients have not noticed their care having been impacted, there is concern for the health and wellbeing of regular staff if continued