3, 23 February 2011
During an inspection in response to concerns
People told us that they understood the care they were receiving and that the nurses explained what support and care was needed to achieve their treatment aims. One person told us that staff had worked really hard with them to help them to return home. When this could not be achieved the staff were kind and sensitive when talking with them about this. Another person told us they were being discharged that day having reached their rehabilitation objectives and their overall aim to return to their own home.
People said that staff always respected their privacy and dignity. They gave examples of staff closing the curtains around their bed when they receive personal care and told us that the staff were quick to respond to their requests to go to the toilet. We saw staff responding to frequent requests for this type of support with kindness, patience and professionalism.
We saw that people had their call bells close to hand so they could summon staff if needed. We saw people ringing their bells and being attended to quickly. We saw that staff when attending to people ensured that all their personal needs had been attended to and that they had everything they needed to hand. This meant that call bells rang infrequently.
We saw nurses working closing with GP's and therapists to help ensure that people achieve their treatment aims in a timely manner.
Not all care records for people who are frail or very ill record how decisions are made about their treatment. For example resuscitation decisions are recorded but these do not always include who has been involved in the decision or do not clearly record how the decision has been made and some decisions are not reviewed when circumstances change, as they should be.
People told us they are completely satisfied with the food served at Tavistock Hospital. Comments included "the meals are always good. We can choose what we want. There is a good choice on the menus and there always something there that we like." People choose what they eat from a range of options which includes both hot and cold foods. Staff report that all diets are catered for giving examples such as diabetic and vegetarian meals.
We saw people receiving support to eat their meals and to drink. There is a system in place to alert staff to those who may be at risk of malnutrition. We saw that good strategies are in place to manage these risks, although records did not always demonstrate this.
People told us that this hospital is always very clean. They say that their bed linen is changed frequently and they never feel uncomfortable about using the toilet or bathrooms. We found that good systems and practice are in place to ensure the hospital is kept clean and that the spread of infection is controlled.