Enter and view: Royal Shrewsbury Hospital Clinic 4 – Head and Neck
Download (PDF 781.02 KB)Summary of report content
Healthwatch Shropshire gather information on people’s experiences of health and social care services and there are times when it is appropriate for Healthwatch Shropshire to see and hear for themselves how services are being delivered: these visits are called ‘Enter and View’, they are not inspections.
Healthwatch Shropshire visited Royal Shrewsbury Hospital Clinic 4 – Head and Neck on 17/05/2018 and 11/06/2018.
The summary of findings highlighted areas in relation to patient feedback, staff feedback and observation. These findings informed that the waiting area is small for the number of patients who attend the clinic. Two patients told Healthwatch Shropshire they did not like to leave the waiting area to get drinks or go to the toilet in case they missed being called. Reception staff did not cover for each other, leaving some patients confused and without information. The consulting rooms are well equipped, but there is no room for privacy or for confidential advice when the clinic is busy. Generally, both the quality of information about their condition and the treatment itself were highly rated by patients. Patients praised the support offered by volunteers for people attending audiology.
The recommendations within the report state the practice should review the level of privacy available to patients at reception. The practice should review the suitability of the waiting area for the number of patients attending the clinic at times, e.g. the Monday afternoon clinic. Ensure that a room is always available for confidential discussions with patients of Clinic 4. Engage with patients about how they would like to receive information about their condition / prognosis when a private space is not available. Consideration to be given to adjusting the speed of changing screens on the electronic display panel so that people have time to read the information. Consideration to be given to relocating the sign to the toilets so that it can be seen from the waiting area. Ensure that Reception staff are available for audiology and clinic 4 at all times.