Service user experiences of Croydon University Hospital Accident and Emergency Department
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Between August and November 2019, Healthwatch Croydon asked those who had recently used Croydon University Hospital’s Accident and Emergency department what their experience of services was like. They spoke to 79 service users
The department scored highly for overall satisfaction with over 50% scoring it as excellent and a further 29% stating it was good; friendliness scored highest with 88% scoring excellent or good; 81% waiting areas 64; 70% communication with staff; 69% that what they came for was made better scored excellent or good 54 and 50% were satisfied with waiting times.
Being assessed more than one or speaking to two or more staff was not a concern: Very few patients were assessed once, but no-one found this negative. Most found the experience positive increasing if they had three or more assessments. A significant comment chose not to comment, suggesting that this issue was not a major issue. More had to speak to two or more doctors or nurses, but of those who gave a comment most found this a positive experience, and only very few had a negative experience. Many no comments suggest that this was not a significant issue for many.
Waiting times could be communicated better: When we asked for improvements, many said that they would like to have better communication of waiting times to manage their expectations
Several people found the seats uncomfortable and toilets untidy, as well as limited access to food and drink facilities.
While many found staff friendly and helpful and information good, there were a number of instances were staff did not meet expectations, and information and processes were not as clear as they could be.
Bearing in mind the small sample, for the very young and over 65s the time they had to wait vs expected time was lower, irrespective of how long they wanted to wait. The 19-25 and 26-40 waiting on average up to an hour longer than expected, but these numbers are small. Those aged 41 to 60 were more likely to have higher expectations of less time in A&E than what happened.
The report contains six recommendations.