Nuffield Health Brentwood Hospital

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• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

This means we looked for evidence that the service involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

At our last assessment we rated this key question as good, but it was combined with the outpatient’s department and was under a different methodology. At this assessment the rating has remained good.

This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

We have not awarded this service a score for Caring.

Find out about when we will not publish a key question score and what we look at when we assess Caring.

The evidence showed a good standard. The service always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity.

People who used the service told us staff treated them well and with kindness. They told us staff were friendly and caring and gave us positive feedback about ways in which staff showed them respect and ensured that their dignity was maintained.

All the staff we spoke with were caring and compassionate and were committed to providing safe care and treatment. Staff told us they treated people with respect and were able to explain how they maintained people’s privacy and dignity during scan procedures.

We observed staff being discreet and responsive when caring for people who used the service. Staff took time to interact with people and those close to them in a respectful and considerate way.

We saw people were treated with dignity, compassion and empathy. Staff spoke with people discreetly to maintain their confidentiality. For example, a patient who required a CT scan for their hip was in a wheelchair. Appropriate manual handling was used, and the patient was asked about the preferred method of transfer. The patient was made to feel comfortable in the presence of staff.

Patients told us that staff had provided detailed aftercare instructions, which supported a positive patient experience.

The evidence showed a good standard. The service treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

People who use the service told us staff treated them as individuals and took their needs and preferences into account when undertaking scan procedures. They told us staff clearly explained the scan procedures to them in a way they understood.

Staff told us people’s needs and preferences were assessed prior to undertaking scan procedures, and they respected people’s wishes where possible.

We observed positive interactions between staff and people who used the service. Staff took time to explain what they were doing and demonstrated a good understanding of people’s individual needs and preferences.

Staff in diagnostic imaging had completed training in equality, diversity and human rights as well as dementia and autism awareness as part of the mandatory training programme. This supported staff to provide care that was person-centred, inclusive and responsive to individual needs. For example, training compliance for dementia awareness was 97% at the time of the assessment.

The evidence showed a good standard. The service promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

Patients who used the service told us staff respected their wishes and adapted their approach to meet personal needs, for example, a radiographer supported a patient who was in a wheelchair to feel comfortable when transferring for a CT scan. Staff listened to people and promoted independence as much as possible.

Patients told us staff allowed them sufficient time to settle in before commencing scan procedures. Staff helped patients whilst getting ready for a scan. One patient informed us that they felt fortunate to have been referred by the NHS otherwise they would have had to wait a long time for a MRI scan.

We observed radiology staff and a doctor take time to undertake an invasive procedure. The patient was very happy with the procedure, staff information that was provided and the aftercare experience.

The service had a chaperone process to support people if they needed it.

The evidence showed a good standard. The service listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

Staff closely monitored patients during their scan to check they were comfortable. Staff would pause the scan if a patient requested this or if a patient experienced any pain, anxiety or discomfort. Staff carried out regular checks to ensure that patients specific needs were met.

Patients were supported with their emotional needs. We observed staff that were calm and reassuring and answered any questions that patients had about their scan. People spoke positively about the way staff listened to them and provided them with support and reassurance about undertaking a scan or procedure. For example, good rapport was observed between a patient who was having a MRI of the lumbar spine and a radiographer.

The evidence showed a good standard. The service cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to aim to provide person-centred care.

All the staff we spoke with told us they received good support from their line managers. Staff told us their workload was difficult at times as there were several radiographer vacancies. Some staff did not feel there was always support from senior managers in the hospital, but others did. There was also some concern that at times there was too much delegation of duties and insufficient supervision. This was mainly attributed to high workloads for senior team members. The diagnostic imaging manager supported staff with training and development opportunities to develop a positive team culture.

Staff described that there were opportunities where staff got together to build a team culture which was positive and other staff benefits for wellbeing support. This included gym membership to Nuffield Health gyms to support their wellbeing.

The hospital had introduced a “We Care” award following positive feedback or nomination from a colleague and a hospital staff recognition day by department to promote staff wellbeing.