What we're hearing about Ashford and St Peter's hospitals

This is a report by Healthwatch Surrey. Healthwatch representatives visited the St Peter's Hospital and the Ashford Hospital to gather people's experiences.

During the visits To Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals people mentioned they were happy with the care provided and were reluctant to say when things went wrong as they had a positive experience overall and people appreciated how hard the staff were working. People were not aware of the opportunities to provide both positive and constructive feedback which could provide information to improve and develop services, as well as improve staff morale and an opportunity to share when things are going well. 

Despite not being well informed about how, people were prepared to give feedback. Some people also said that they felt it was beneficial giving feedback but there were a few people who were less convinced about the importance of feedback. There were also some suggestions as to how their experience could be improved – communication and information, use of technology, food, 

transport.

A total of 30 people were spoken to, 10 at St Peter's Hospital and 20 at Ashford Hospital.

There are recommendations in this report.

We recommend that Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust review how they communicate with patients, their families, and carers about the available means to provide feedback and complaints. We suggest that the importance and benefits of feedback is highlighted to encourage more people to share their view, whether positive or negative, and people are provided with clearer information about the range of opportunities to provide feedback including PALS, the Friends and Family Test Viewpoint survey, and independent options such as Healthwatch Surrey.

There are no follow up actions in this report.