Enter and view: University Hospital of North Tees, Ward 31

Healthwatch Hartlepool conducted an Enter and View visit to the Surgical Observation Unit (ward 31) in North Tees and Hartlepool Hospital in November 2018. Observations and interviews took place with 9 patients, staff and relatives. This ward requires a high number of staff and specialised care for those with serious conditions alongside infection control.

Observations made by the Enter and View representatives included that the the corridors were cluttered with trolleys and the ward was too small to accommodate all that was required to keep the ward running effectively. Doors were left open to the ward where a patient was suffering from an infection.

Patients reported mixed views regarding the food quality as the choices were varied but often arrived cold with wrong orders. Patients dignity and respect. All patients gave positive feedback regarding staff attitudes and were happy with overall treatment including maintaining dignity and respect. It was reported that the ward and bathroom facilities were usually clean but sink plugs were not always featured. Most patients knew the complaints procedure, but not all. The majority of patients were reported that they were regularly updated about their care plan and that discharge/on-going care had been discussed with them.

The ward matron reported that she was happy with staff levels and tried to refrain from using agency staff as the commitment to caring for these patients is absent compared to permanent staff. It was stated that resources were mostly adequate but winter pressures can cause frustration.

The recommendations made by the representatives included that a Treatment room should be made available for staff to check and change patients’ dressings, instead of them having to be dealt with in the patient’s beds and that the ward appears too small and cramped altogether for the work that goes on there, and it was felt that there should be more space available somewhere in the hospital for the Surgical observation unit to be housed, which wouldn’t be cluttered and noisy.

The service provider provided a response that explained how these have been incorporated into the action plan. It was also mentioned that some observations needed explanation rather than action, such as sinks without plugs are for hand washing only.