Enter and view: Calderdale Royal Hospital
Download (PDF 997.21 KB)Summary of report content
Enter and View is one of the many tools used by Healthwatch Calderdale to gather opinions from the general public.
Healthwatch Calderdale visited two wards when they carried out a Enter and View visit in The Dales unit at Calderdale Hospital. Both wards are for working age adults with mental health conditions; Elmdale is a female single gender inpatient unit and Ashdale is a male single gender inpatient unit. Both wards have a specialist bed for children aged 16 years and over.
The wards are used ‘Trust wide’ so whilst the patients are mainly from the Huddersfield and Halifax areas – beds can be taken up by patients from North Kirklees; Barnsley and Wakefield areas.
The report highlighted that Healthwatch Calderdale were made to feel very welcome on both wards during our visits and it was apparent to us that senior staff were open to hearing suggestions about how the service could be improved. Managers were keen to hear the feedback service users gave us and they took notes when we were sharing information at the end of our visit.
One of the main reasons for this Enter and View visit was to establish whether patients are aware how they can give feedback about the care and treatment they receive. Healthwatch Calderdale were pleased to note that noticeboards on both wards and patient information booklet contained information on who patients could contact if they had a comment, concern, complaint or compliment. Some patients also spoke to Healthwatch Calderdale about what they would do if they had any issues.
Healthwatch Calderdale noted that patients may benefit from being able to give feedback quickly, informally and anonymously. Elmdale already has a suggestion box on the ward but it would benefit to have one on Ashdale also, or a ‘graffiti board’. The report noted that there was quite a marked difference between the feedback we gathered from patients about the activities available on both wards. Elmdale patients spoke very highly about the support they received from occupational therapy staff and were generally happy with the range of activities on offer; patients on Ashdale ward were generally more negative about the activities available to them.
Healthwatch Calderdale stated in the report that patients on Ashdale ward gave many positive comments about nursing staff. Patients on both units mentioned staffing levels and that bank staff are used frequently. Many staff commented on the surveys about this also and how it would benefit patients and staff to have a higher staff numbers.
Healthwatch Calderdale recognised that the design and layout of the building has its limitations but there are some areas which could be made more comfortable and inviting by making some simple and inexpensive changes; these are suggested in the recommendations below.
The report includes 8 recommendations and has a response from the provider.