Enter and view: Kingston Hospital Royal Eye Unit
Download (PDF 420.98 KB)Summary of report content
Healthwatch Kingston upon Thames undertook an enter and view visit to Kingston Hospital Royal Eye Unit on 27 July 2015. They spoke to 16 people.
Overall, patients reported positive experiences of the service. Most respondents (87%) said communication about appointments was efficient and clear, although some visually impaired patients did not receive information in large print and found letters difficult to read.
Staff were rated very highly for friendliness and helpfulness. Receptionists, nurses, and doctors were generally scored at the top of the scale, indicating strong satisfaction with staff interactions. However, there was one reported issue where a missing MRI scan caused anxiety for a patient.
The waiting area was considered comfortable and pleasant by most patients, and average waiting times were relatively short at around 30 minutes. However, some patients felt uneasy about how they were called for appointments, reporting that names were sometimes spoken quietly or unclearly, which made it easy to miss being called.
The report identified several accessibility concerns, particularly for visually impaired patients. Signage was often difficult to see due to poor contrast, size, or positioning, and the layout of the waiting area created challenges for wheelchair users and people with guide dogs.
Observations of the environment found the unit to be clean, calm, and generally well run, with polite staff and good facilities. However, it was noted that patients were not always directed to available information resources, and volunteers who could offer assistance were not present during the visit.
The report makes several recommendations to improve patient experience. These include improving signage for visually impaired patients, changing how patients are called to ensure clarity, encouraging staff to introduce themselves properly, making better use of volunteers to share information, recording patients’ accessibility needs more consistently, and improving visibility of facilities such as the water dispenser.