Acute Care Trends Analysis Royal London Hospital 2016-17, Tower Hamlets

Healthwatch Tower Hamlets representatives collected & analysed comments from a total of 1633 hospital service users, between 1st April, 2016 and 31st March, 2017, on their experience with the Royal London Hospital to examine important aspects of the services provided at RLH.

Based on the feedback received, overall sentiment about the hospital was 68% negative.

The report looks at the journey a patient takes on the Care Pathway, and the feedback received for this service.

- Transport: There is overwhelming dissatisfaction with hospital transport services with 89% negative comments.

HWTH’s recommend: the RLH has presently contracted a different company for transport. These services should be monitored, reviewed and investigated to enforce standards of punctuality, reliability and professional behaviour.

- Reception: Despite having 64% negative reviews, sentiment about the attitude of reception staff is mixed. Positive comments about the staff were described as helpful, pleasant and efficient. Those receiving negative comments were unhelpful, rude and fail to offer appropriate support, or discourage patients from asking for the advice/ information they need.

HWTH recommended improving admin systems to provide future errors, improve the telephone system and train reception staff.

- Diagnosis and testing: patients have found waiting lists for appointments unacceptably long; Poor standards of admin work, lack of information about booking tests, and in some cases even patients being misdiagnosed or receiving inaccurate test results are some of the issues found with this service that led to 63% negative feedback.

- Clinical treatment was generally perceived as high quality, but difficult to access with long waiting times and frequent cancellations which gave it a 64% negative feedback.

HWTH suggests identifying and following examples of good practice in doctor-patient communication to ensure patients understand their treatment and can meaningfully give informed consent. Take measures to reduce waiting times particularly for children and the elderly.

- Clinical nursing service users are broadly satisfied with the quality of nursing care they receive; while sentiment about staff attitude is mixed. Lack of support, inadequate advice/information and the general running of the ward are the main subjects of patient dissatisfaction with 64% negative feedback.

HWTH recommends improving the quality of service by evaluating the schedule, providing leaflets to explain what to expect and better choice of food.

Patient discharge has received an overwhelmingly 96% negative feedback mainly due to lack of information, being discharged while still at risk and without medication, complicated discharge process and bad follow-on and continuing care.

Follow on: Many users are unhappy with the support they receive following discharge from hospital and find it to be lacking with 78% negative feedback.

HWTH suggests working with community health services, local and national charities to create a signposting service/ library of resources; pass on leaflets and materials on relevant services to patients.

Community care: Community midwives and district nurses in particular, are described by service users as unreliable, careless and difficult to contact with 98% negative feedback.

HWTH suggest take measure to make sure nurses and midwives turn up on time and improve the community referral & booking system and give out better information.