Feedback on the Accident and Emergency Department, Royal Sussex County Hospital
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Healthwatch Brighton and Hove reviewed its recent feedback about the A&E department at the Royal Sussex County Hospital since September 2021.
The substantive issues raised were:
- COVID safety: poor social distancing in an overcrowded A&E department.
- Environmental and safety concerns: overcrowding, groups of people coming in together and socialising whilst others were ill, or drunk.
- Staff attitudes (non-medical): sometimes unwelcoming, offhand or rude.
- Lack of privacy: in triage rooms and in corridors.
- Inordinate waits and lack of communications about where people are in the system.
- A lack of pain relief: not provided or offered after triage.
- A lack of refreshments, or comfort breaks: patients not being offered drinks for several hours, with long waits on trolleys without being seen or spoken to by staff
- Insufficient staff to provide care and support: who are often over worked and stressed.
- High praise for medical staff and treatment once seen