Enter and view: Amber A and B Wards, Queens Hospital - revisit

Healthwatch Barking and Dagenham undertook an unannounced enter and view visit to Amber A and B wards at Queens Hospital, Romford in September 2015 to follow up the outcomes of a previous visit carried out in Amber ‘A & B’ Wards in March 2015.

From the action plan agreed by BHRUT, in the main, a number of improvements were evident from the visit and some measures had been put in place to inform and educate patients, visitors and staff about the performance of the services on the wards. 

Where individual patients require a personalised form of support during meal times, it was evident on observation that this was being put into practice. Measures have been put into place directing people to contact the Ward Matron if there were any issues relating to cleanliness and bathing/toilet areas on the wards. It was evident - based on information provided by the Senior Ward Sister and in discussion with the Ward Matron – where a proactive approach was in place to try to prevent pressure sores. Healthwatch was given access to the paper based tool used to record a detailed assessment and the action undertaken to identify pressure sores and ulcers. 

Healthwatch spoke with 11 patients and relatives during the visit. Overall, comments and feedback was positive about their experiences of the care and treatment on these wards. There were some negative comments that were of concern, relating to a patient who occupied one of the single bed units. Consistently poor response times to buzzers for toileting bottles and that washing/toilet facility in the room were not kept clean. They also said they hadn’t always been checked for pressure sores. This patient did comment on how much better the shared unit was in relation to these points.

Representatives were satisfied that further action had been taken to ensure that all nursing staff that worked on the wards were being given awareness training about the rights of patients relatives to be involved where it is clearly identified they have a Power of Attorney to represent the interests of a patient who has been assessed under the Mental Capacity Act. What was not clear from the visit was whether doctors that make decisions about patients on the ward were following the same guidelines in practice.