Enter and view: Paediatric at Conquest Hospital

In September 2023, Healthwatch East Sussex (HWES) visited the paediatric department at the Conquest Hospital in Hastings over a two-day period. A mixture of staff, adult volunteers (over 21) and young volunteers (13 to 18) visited the outpatient area, Short Stay Paediatric Assessment Unit and inpatient ward (Kipling Ward) and engaged with patients and their parents/carers to gather their views on the department, what worked well, and what could be improved. Healthwatch decided to undertake an Enter and View of the paediatric department at the Conquest after a request to do so from East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, who were keen to better understand what patients and their carers thought of the provision available for children and young people in the paediatric department.  They spoke to 13 people.

From Healthwatch observations, it appears that patients, and their parents and carers, are overall very happy with the care they received during their visit to the department. Patients and their parents/carers said that they felt listened to and cared for by department staff, and that they were kept well-informed. The main issue identified from all those engaged with, was that the department was more geared towards younger children and did not feel as suitable for older children and teens.