Round the Clock Care –24 Hours in East Sussex Healthcare Trust

This report presents a snapshot of interactions between Healthwatch East Sussex, Authorised Representatives and patients, relatives, carers and staff including Ambulance staff. This work was carried out over a 24-hour period in Eastbourne District General Hospital and the Conquest Hospital in Hastings and over 12 hours at Bexhill Community Hospital.

A total of 285 people were spoken too during the visit.

Key findings

Authorised Representatives’ observations of care during the 24 hours were largely positive and complementary; however, there were some areas identified to follow up. These included: the mental health pathways in A & E for patients, pathways for homeless people and cleanliness concerns. The number of inappropriate attendance of some patients in A & Edepartments remains high. There are some patients who bypass NHS 111 and go straight to A & E departments due to previous experiences. Proactive communication with patients around waiting times in A & E remains a concern and needs to significantly improve. Greater public awareness raising and information is required to deter inappropriate attendance at A & E. Patients, carers and relatives, accepted that local NHS services are very busy and stretched, but they also recognised and commented on how hard the staff were working. High demand on in-patient beds and impacts on the system when timely discharges cannot be achieved.

Recommendations were made based on the above findings and a response was given by East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust.