Royal Eye Infirmary

On this page

• 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 the service involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. We checked that people’s privacy and dignity was respected, that they understood 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.

This is the first assessment for this service. This key question has been rated 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 service always treated patients with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues with kindness and respect.

Staff introduced themselves to patients and said what their role was.

During the assessment of the service, we observed staff treating patients with kindness compassion and dignity. Staff spoke with people in a kind and caring way. We observed staff building positive relationships with people during appointments. Staff adapted how they spoke to people to make them feel comfortable.

People using the service told us staff treated them with kindness, compassion and respect. A patient said, “Everyone treated them very well.”

We spoke with a patient who had a fear of hospitals. They said staff interacted with them in a way that alleviated their fears and acted in a professional manner to support them.

We saw staff protecting and respecting patients’ privacy and dignity. Staff followed policy to keep patient care and treatment confidential. During the assessment we saw doors to the surgical department and theatres were kept closed to protect patient’s privacy and dignity.

The service treated patients as individuals and made sure patient’s care, support and treatment met patient’s needs and preferences. Staff took account of patient’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Staff understood and respected the personal, cultural, social, and religious needs of patients and how they may relate to care needs.

Staff received training in equality and diversity to support patients as individuals.

During our assessment, patients told us they were treated well. A person said, “Everything has been perfect.”

As patients undergoing surgery had hearing aids removed to prevent damage to them, staff were aware this may affect a patient’s ability to understand what was happening. Staff had access to tools to aid communication with patients.

The service promoted patient’s independence, so patients knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

During our assessment, patient we spoke with told us they were involved in care decisions. This included difficult conversations relating to care and treatment. We saw staff giving patients the opportunity to ask questions about their surgery. Staff took time in explaining information to patient in a way they could understand.

During our assessment, patients told us they were given the information needed to make decisions. During our assessment people told us they felt staff involved them in care decisions.

We saw staff supporting patients to maintain mobility. There were mobility aids to use when on site.

The staff listened to and understood patient’s needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to patient’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

During our assessment we observed staff escorting people around the service throughout the patient journey. We saw staff providing comfort and support to patient using the service.

Staff were aware of the importance of meeting patient’s needs and ensuring they were comfortable. We observed staff providing reassurance to patients’ pre-surgery.

The service had eye care liaison officers through a service level agreement with a national charity. This supported patient with advice and information about their condition and future health needs.

During our assessment staff told us how they worked to improve people’s lives. A member of staff told us the procedures they do may not be lifesaving, but they were life changing.

The service cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.

Staff told us they enjoyed work. However, the workload was challenging.

Staff survey results from 2024 showed almost all staff felt their immediate line manager valued the work they did and took a positive interest in their wellbeing. Staff told us of examples where reasonable adjustments were made to support them in and outside of work.

The service had up-to-date policies and processes to support staff with incidents of violence and aggression. Staff received training to deal with violence and aggression. In the 12 months prior to our assessment, there were 11 reported incidents of violence and aggression against staff in the service. Records showed the service reviewed incidents and offered staff support.

Staff could be supported through the trust’s in-house occupational health and well-being department.

Staff could access a mental health first aider. This was a member of staff who was trained to support colleagues’ mental wellbeing.

Theatre changing areas had male, female and unisex areas.

We saw staff being recognised for their work contribution in handovers.