New Urgent and Emergency Care Centre Report - Walsall Manor Hospital
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Last year Healthwatch Walsall was pleased to have been contacted by Walsall Manor Hospital Trust to invite two cohorts of service users from its sensory loss and disability groups to visit the new Urgent and Emergency Care department during the latter stages of its construction. The purpose of this was for the Trust to hear firsthand the views of these groups with regards to the suitability of the facilities. Following on from this and six months after the opening of the new Urgent and Emergency Care Centre, Healthwatch Walsall wanted to hear from patients directly to find out about how the new facilities and services were working for them. The project engagement ran from July 2023 to January 2024. They heard from 214 people.
From arrival at the Centre considerably more people attended A&E than UTC and the majority had contacted another service for help before attending the Centre. The majority of these people had contacted their own GP first, followed by NHS 111.
The majority of people attending the Centre did not have an appointment, suggesting that people had taken the decision to attend directly.
There were mixed views around whether the signage being adequate and there were a number of people who had difficulty finding the Centre or had been unaware that A&E and UTC had merged, causing confusion about which desk to go to on arrival.
A high percentage of people said they were communicated with in a way they could understand, and for those that were not communicated with in a way they could understand, over half were offered interpreter services. The biggest barrier to communication was audibility at the front desk.
There were contrasting views on waiting times and receiving updates around care and discharge. People told us there were still long waiting times and although the new Centre is larger, it still becomes overcrowded during busy periods.
Most people said they were listened to and treated with dignity and respect, however there were some comments about poor staff attitudes, and a lack of empathy towards patients.
People completing part 1 of the survey rated their experience of the new Centre higher than those who completed part 2. This could be attributed to the differing number of respondents in Part 2. Whilst over half of those who completed Part 1 survey said that the new Centre was an improvement on the old Centre, there were a number of people who felt that the service had not improved.
There were comments about the lack of food and drink options for those in the waiting room and with people waiting for long periods, there was a need for easily accessible refreshments.