Archived: Whipps Cross University Hospital

Patients said they felt listened to when it came to aspects of their treatment. All patients we spoke to said that staff explained what they were going to do beforehand and asked them if it was okay. None of the patients spoken to said they had felt embarrassed during their stay.

One patient told us that she had religious dietary choices but no one had asked her about dietary needs. Another patient told us they were diabetic, but had not been asked about dietary needs. Patients we spoke to told us that staff will check to see if they have had enough to eat and drink, and will be asked if they would like more. This included being asked to drink more.

On the whole maternity patients felt that the midwives and doctors understood them, felt involved in their plan of care and overall satisfied with their care.

Generally patients were complimentary about the care and treatment they had received and complimentary about the attitude and helpfulness of staff. Two patients told us that they were not looking forward to admission due to the hospital's local reputation. Both felt very happy about the care and treatment they had received and their view of Whipps Cross Hospital had been changed by their own experience.

Patients made general comments about hygiene. A number said that the hospital was cleaner than their previous experiences of Whipps Cross. Patients noted how hard they felt the cleaning staff worked. 'They need more cleaners. There's not enough to do all that's needed' was one comment. On the maternity unit one of the patients commented that the hospital was 'much better' than when they'd had their previous baby, when probed further, they said it was much cleaner now.

Patients were asked if they felt there were enough staff and enough nurses who knew their case and could deal with their needs. Again the overall response to this question was a positive one. It was generally felt that the ward staff were personable and attentive. 'We are asked questions and tended to regularly', 'communication is quite good. Generally the blind patient across the ward is looked after well, she is helped to eat and drink her tea and everything', 'not neglected in anyway', 'there's not enough staff, but they come straight away' were some of the comments.

It was universally felt that ward staff were hard working and there was a mixed response to whether there are enough staff to fulfil all the ward duties. 'It's a very happy ward, the nurses don't stop', 'could do with more staff, but they do a lot', 'you have to wait to be seen sometimes but its okay', 'they work very hard but there's not enough of them to do the work' were some of the comments.