Enter and view: Abdominal Medicine Surgery, Clinical Service Unit & Discharge Lounge, St James Hospital Leeds

Healthwatch Leeds carried out announced Enter and View visits to four wards in Abdominal Medicine Surgery (AMS) Clinical Service Unit (CSU) and the discharge lounge in St James's University Hospital in April 2018. These visits were part of a planned programme work and also, as a response to some issues that had been highlighted through enquiries and engagement work.

There had been concerns raised by the public about some of the wards in the CSU through various engagement work and enquiries. Over the last 12 months, Leeds Teaching Hospital Trust’s Patients Advice Liaison Service have received 219 concerns and 32 complaints about the wards visited. The highest proportion of these are waiting list time delays in both outpatients and inpatients and cancellation in clinical appointments and operations.

The visiting team found that, while the wards were generally clean and well organised with a lot of information available, the corridors were cluttered with equipment and there was furniture blocking one of the fire exits. Some patients also complained about the temperature on the ward when cleaners have opened windows while working and not closed them again.

A Patient commented that they would like the privacy to be improved in non-designated areas, for example they felt exposed and uncomfortable in the middle of the bay, and there were generally negative comments about staff responses to call bells.

The report makes recommendations around discharge process on the ward, and about the communication to patients in the Discharge Lounge. The report states it will be shared with Leeds Teaching Hospital Trust; Leeds CCG and CQC and next steps in relation to the recommendations will be agreed with them to ensure actions are followed through and implemented.