Enter and view: Hull Royal Infirmiary

In November 2016, Healthwatch Kingston upon Hull and Healthwatch East Riding of Yorkshire carried out an Enter and View visit to Hull Royal Infirmary. The purpose of the visit was to gather patients’ experience of being discharged from hospital and to give an external perspective on the discharge lounge environment/experience for patients.

The following areas were highlighted within the report: the environment and accessibility; safety; policies, procedures, and care plans; patient experience; privacy, dignity, and respect; staff; leadership; and overall effectiveness.

Seven patients were spoken to in the discharge lounge and all of the patients expressed overall happiness with the care received as an in-patient. However, some patients felt that the discharge process had been rushed and that they did not have enough information, or the information given had been conflicting.

The report makes the following recommendations:
• Ensure all the hospital wards/units understand the process of admission to the discharge lounge to prevent surprise arrivals
• Consider the need for information leaflets in the unit
• Consider reinstating the Hearing Loop.
• Review procedures for communication between patients and staff regarding the purpose of the unit and the reason they are transferred there.
• Medication delays – consider reviewing the potential causes of delay
• Seek to reduce length of stay
Within the report the provider response has been included which covers all the recommended areas but in in general states that the overall assessment of the facility was accurate and a number of the recommendations would be helpful in creating a smoother discharge process and transitional environment from hospital to discharge destination.