Enter and view: Acute Admissions Unit (AAU), Whipps Cross University Hospital

Healthwatch Waltham Forest conducted an Enter and View visit to the Acute Admissions Unit (AAU) at Whipps Cross University Hospital on 28th June 2019. The visit was carried out after Healthwatch Waltham Forest was commissioned to deliver an Urgent Care Patient Engagement project through reviewing service users' experiences of Urgent and Emergency Care Services in Waltham Forest and at Whipps Cross Hospital. Feedback was gathered from patients, families, friends, carers and staff through observation and surveys.

Overall, Healthwatch Waltham Forest found that the AAU was a fast-paced unit. On arrival, staff in some areas of the unit were more responsive and welcoming than in others. Patients were not aware of how to formally make a complaint and were not aware of PALS in general. There was a good rapport between staff and patients; a number of patients described the staff team as compassionate and kind. Most of the staff spoken to had received little to no mental health training, and staff had not always received full induction training. Despite this, they felt that the culture of the unit was a positive one. 

Based on their findings, Healthwatch Waltham Forest made two recommendations:

1. To introduce mental health training for all staff to enable them to confidently work in the best way with patients around mental health need.
2. To put in place clear signage for reception/nurses' station areas, to help clearly guide patients and relatives to access information and support when needed.