Enter and view: St Peter's Hospital emergency department and same day emergency care

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Summary of report content

This is an Enter and View report by Healthwatch Surrey. Healthwatch representatives visited the St Peter's Hospital emergency department to assess the care being provided there.

This was a pre-arranged programme of visits. There was a site visit with the head of nursing on 22 August. Following the meeting there was agreement to visit the emergency department (ED), Ambulatory Majors (AM), and same day emergency care (SDEC). By doing 4 visits it ensured that the ED was seen on different times of day and on different days of the week. Each of the visits lasted 2 hours.

Key findings

• People are generally understanding of the pressures on the NHS staff and so are not expecting major changes to be made.

• Staff attitudes are generally very good, most people told us staff had shown kindness and a caring attitude.

• Patients would benefit from clear, consistent signage on the hospital site to help them navigate to the right place. Some people found it difficult to find their way to Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC). 

• Patients would benefit from better management of the queue for the navigation nurse in the Emergency Department (ED) at busy times. On 1 of our visits people were waiting 50-60 minutes to see the navigation nurse. 

• Most people across ED and SDEC knew what was going to happen next, although there was some frustration with waiting times for test results. 

• People’s experiences were mainly positive across the course of our visits however, they were more negative during our visits at busier times.

• More could be done to encourage patients to share feedback directly – the Viewpoint posters in ED, QR code in SDEC, and PALS details were not very visible. 

• Not everyone knew about the availability of refreshments in SDEC.

• We heard about some issues with parking.

There are recommendations in this report

  • Emergency Department (ED) - queuing, communication on waiting times, clear uniforms
  • Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) - nutrition and hydration, reducing plastic waste
  • Estates - viewpoint posters and terminals for feedback

There are no follow up actions in this report.

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General details

Local Healthwatch
Healthwatch Surrey
Publication date
Key themes
Building, Decor and Facilities, including health and safety
Cleanliness, Hygiene and Infection Control
Communication with patients; treatment explanation; verbal advice
Food, nutrition and catering
Service organisation, delivery, change and closure
Staffing - levels and training
Waiting times- punctuality and queuing on arrival

Methodology and approach

Primary research method used
Observation (eg Enter and View)
Survey
If an Enter and View methodology was applied, was the visit announced or unannounced?
Announced

Details of health and care services included in the report

Details of health and care services included in the report
Emergency department (inc A&E)

Details of people who shared their views

Number of people who shared their views
80
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