Enter and view: Thomas Young Ward, St George's Hospital

This is an Enter and View report by Healthwatch Wandsworth. Healthwatch Representatives visited the Thomas Young Ward at St George's Hospital to assess the care being delivered there.

There were two visits to Thomas Young Ward, the first of which on 16th July 2024 to familiarise with the ward. At the second visit on 13th September 2024, representatives spoke with nine patients on the ward as well as the family members of one of these patients. A semi-structured interview with a set of prompts covering various topics around patient experience was used.

With St George’s Hospital being a key hospital for residents of the Borough of Wandsworth its delivery of services and patient experience remain a high priority for local people and consequently was chosen as the site for this visit.

After a discussion with staff at St George’s on what aspect of the hospital should be focused upon, there was agreement that looking into the patient experience of the stroke pathway at St George’s Hospital would serve as a good focus and help build upon the national Stroke Patient Reported Experience Measure Survey (PREMs) from 2022/23. Within this pathway it was decided to focus on the experience of Thomas Young Ward which serves as the Acute Stroke Unit at St George’s for Wandsworth, and also includes the Wolfson Acute Neurorehabilitation Unit. 

Representatives were able to speak to 9 people during their visit.

Key Findings

• Positive patient experience of staff and care - people were happy with their interractions
• Patient knowledge and involvement in medical/nursing care plan - there was a lack of awareness about care plans, aside from those on the rehab plan
• Ward environment - people were positive about their experience on the ward, though it could be made more comfortable and less noisy
• PREMs national survey and relation to local findings - there was some evidence that the much larger PREMs survey matched the findings at this enter and view

There are recommendations in this report

Enhanced communication and information for patients during their time on the ward

• Wider distribution of patient information booklets
• Alternative formats for patients who cannot read the booklets
• Regular provision of the medical/nursing care plan
• More visible location of whiteboard information for bedbound/less mobile patients
• Clearer information to patients on discharge planning process 

Further patient involvement and the collection of feedback

• Consider the possibility of a peer support group for patients
• Interim feedback from longer stay patients

There are no follow up actions in this report. The provider has responded to the report.