Enter and view: Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, Ward 21
Download (PDF 441.38 KB)Summary of report content
Healthwatch Shropshire conducted an announced Enter and View visit to Ward 21 of the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, a newly created Supported Discharge ward, on 6 December 2017.
The ward has been created as a temporary unit to reduce winter pressures in the rest of the hospital and is designed to accommodate patients who are medically fit for discharge whilst their discharge package is finalised.
The focus of the visit was to: observe the layout of the ward and the staffing arrangements; understand the assessment processes for transfer to ward 21; understand the contributing factors that delay a patient’s discharge from hospital; speak to patients about their experiences in hospital and their understanding of the reasons for their transfer to ward 21 and the arrangements for their discharge; and to find out if patients feel they are treated with dignity and respect and feel comfortable on the ward.
The Enter and View Authorised Representatives found that patients who lived in Wales faced longer stays in hospital than Shropshire residents and that most of the patients they spoke to felt that the communication with them could be improved, either by being provided with written information, or by staff speaking to the patient themselves rather than to relatives and carers.
The assessment processes and liaison with other parts of the hospital were observed to work well and patients were treated with dignity and respect. It was noted that, although there were a number of patients living with Dementia on the ward, there were no security measures in place to ensure their safety.
Healthwatch Shropshire made three recommendations one of which was that the Trust reviewed their approach to meeting the communication needs of all their patients and their carers, and makes any changes necessary to implement all the requirements and meet the conformance criteria laid out in the NHS Accessible Information Specification produced by NHS England.
The Matron for ward 21 responded very positively to the report and has taken action against all recommendations and have also undertaken to produce an information booklet for patients explaining Ward 21 processes.