Enter and view: Children’s Ward Emergency department Stoke Mandeville Hospital

Healthwatch Bucks undertook an enter and view visit to the Children's Emergency Department at Stoke Manderville Hospital on 11 December 2024.  They spoke to three patients between the ages of 8 years and 12 years old, seven parents/carers and four members of staff from multidisciplinary paediatric teams. 

In contrast to their first announced visit on 3rd December, the Children’s Emergency Department (ED) was not busy. The two designated patient bays (each with four beds) in the observation area were empty.

The waiting time was displayed on a whiteboard at reception. It was ‘one to two’ hours upon our arrival. All areas were clean and tidy with brightly coloured wall art and toys for younger children. There were TVs for patients in observations rooms. There was also a TV in waiting area, however this was not in use. We were told by a member of staff that the TV was not working and was scheduled to be fixed.

Children and parents/carers gave positive feedback about the facilities and supportive environment within the department i.e. wall illustrations, toys, refreshments and comfortable furniture.

The most common suggestions that Healthwatch heard from parents/carers to help make their experiences better were: 

• Improve waiting times, this included time spent waiting for referrals to Children’s ED from the Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) at Stoke Mandeville Hospital
• Better staff communication with patients and parents/carers across different stages of the waiting and observation processes including the transition from UTC to Children’s ED. A few parents/carers told us that they had not been given enough information about their child’s upcoming care at any stage. One parent/carer said that they were told by a member of staff that they had to wait for a ‘surgeon’ (as opposed to a clinician) to speak to them. Not having more information about why they needed to speak to a surgeon made them panic about what might happen next i.e. that their child would have to undergo surgery 
• Have a wider range of toys/activities for children - from newborn to teens 

There were posters on walls throughout the department with QR codes for patients and parents/carers to access more information and leaflets about Children’s ED.

The staff who spoke to Healthwatch said that they were happy with the design and layout of the building. They also said that they felt supported by management and liked working with friendly colleagues. When asked about challenges in the department, they said: 

• Explaining how waiting times work to patients and families/carers who are often frustrated
• Not enough space in the waiting area during busy times especially when patients are accompanied by a few relatives/carers
• Staffing pressures due to inconsistent levels of demand e.g. lots of patients during busy periods or fewer during quieter periods

The report includes four recommendations and a response from the provider.