22 March 2011
During a themed inspection looking at Dignity and Nutrition
People we spoke to were very positive about their experiences of care and treatment. Many of the people we spoke told us that they trusted the doctors and nurses to make the right decisions about their care and treatment. Others told us that the doctors and nurses were very good at making sure people understood everything about their illness and their treatments. People said they were kept informed, were involved in making decisions about treatment options and were given enough information both written and verbally to help with this process. Most patients also said that they had their care needs met and had been treated respectfully. The people we spoke to on our visit said that they did not have to wait when they called for staff assistance and all knew how to operate the nurse call system. No complaints were made to us about the time people had to wait for assistance.
The patients told us they were also involved in making decisions about their care. One patient told us that she had been able to discuss her future needs and options about where she should be discharged to had been explained to her.
All of the people we spoke to were aware of the reason for their admission to hospital, the likely length of stay and the treatment options available to them.
Example comments included staff described as being 'excellent',' the care being very good', 'staff were kind and caring'.
Some people told us that they were happy with the care they received but felt at times more staff were needed to ensure that everyone received the individual care that they required.
During our visit, we observed that, on one occasion, a patients' dignity was being compromised.
Patients were very complimentary about their experiences of mealtimes. They commented that the staff made an effort to make it a pleasant experience. Patients also commented that they were well supported to eat and drink. Patients said that there was a good choice of food, including meal options that met different cultural requirements.
These findings are supported by the trust's inpatient survey (2010) results, which showed that
' 5.4 out of 10 on how patients would rate hospital food
' 8.5 out of 10 on amount of choice of food
' 7.9 out of 10 on whether patients received enough help with eating
These results are about the same when compared to other similar trusts'.