Rivers 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

We looked for evidence that people were always treated with kindness, empathy and compassion. We checked that people’s privacy and dignity was respected, that they understood that they and their experience of how they were treated and supported mattered. We also looked for evidence that every effort was made to take people’s wishes into account and respect their choices, to achieve the best possible outcomes for them.

At our last assessment we rated this key question outstanding. At this assessment the rating has changed to 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.

We scored the service as 3. The service always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

Staff at all levels took time to treat children and young people with kindness. We saw paediatric nursing staff invest time to understand children and young people. We observed empathetic and compassionate interactions with children and young people and their families throughout the assessment.

The service consistently received high levels of positive feedback in patient surveys, scoring between 9 and10 out of 10 for questions relating to care and treatment.

We saw written feedback that often highlighted the individual members of the team for the care and support they provided. Nursing and medical staff were proud of the care and treatment they were providing at the hospital. Staff said there was good working relationships and could raise concerns without

Staff maintained the confidentiality of information about patients.

We scored the service as 4. The evidence showed an exceptional standard. The service treated people as individuals and was exceptional in how they made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. The service took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Care was personalised to the individual depending on their needs.

Staff understood and respected the personal, cultural, social, and religious needs of patients and how they may relate to care needs. Children and young people were able to communicate directly to registered Paediatric nursing staff. Preassessment pathways were embedded into routine practice. This enabled staff to make adjustments so they could provide an individualised approach to care and treatment. We saw easy read information sheets that explained medical procedures and supported informed consent.

Reasonable adjustments and additional time were offered where people had communication difficulties, and patients were supported to involve family members or others in discussions to aid understanding and decision-making.

The service had adapted the food menu in response to feedback and provided a children’s menu. Children and young people had a choice of food to meet the dietary requirements of religious and ethnic groups and to account for allergies and intolerances.

There was clear information on how to complain and provide feedback. Staff reviewed feedback as part of their team meetings. Staff reflected on feedback to improve communication on sensitive issues for growing children.

Staff ensured that patients could obtain information on treatments and related matters. Patients were provided with written information, including consent forms and letters outlining treatment plans and risks, which were also shared with GPs to support continuity and understanding.

We scored the service as 3. 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.

Staff advocated for the independence and rights for the children and young people. Paediatric clinical and medical staff understood the requirement for obtaining consent from both children and parents. The service followed a strict admissions criteria that meant that children did not stay overnight.

The service promoted people’s independence and supported their rights to choice and control over their care and wellbeing. Staff worked with parents or guardians, children and young people to understand individual preferences and any specific needs and made reasonable adjustments to meet these wherever possible.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. The service listened to and understood people’s needs, views, and wishes. Staff responded to people’s needs at the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

Children and young peoples services was embedded into the hospital governance this meant that there was an overview of paediatric attendance to ensure support was provided to those most in need.

We observed a consultant responding to the immediate needs of a child and addressing the concerns of their guardians. This included a hollistic assessment of wellbeing and taking time to explore issues such as daily routines, nutrition and mobility concerns.

We reviewed 4 patient records which demonstrated the regular assessment of pain and frailty. For surgical procedures, staff completed a local anaesthetic surgical safety checklist fully and appropriately.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. The service cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.

All staff we spoke with within children services felt respected, supported and valued. Staff were proud of the culture within children services and there was a shared sense of ownership towards service improvement. We observed strong working relationships between nursing and clinical staff that were centred on improving outcomes for children and young people.

Staff appraisals included conversations about career development and how it could be supported.

Staff could also access support for their own physical and emotional health needs through an occupational health service.