University Hospital

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

Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity. Staff provided emotional support to families and carers. Every effort was made to take patient wishes into account and respect their choices, to achieve the best possible outcomes for them. This included supporting people to live as independently as possible. Most but not all patients had their individual needs considered.

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.

People's experience

Patients we spoke to said they had been treated with kindness and that staff had been `very helpful' and `lovely.' Family members and carers we spoke to said they had been kept informed about their loved one's treatment.

Patients said that planning had been done to meet their needs and that pain relief had been given when needed and nursing staff checked regularly that they were not in pain.

In all areas we visited, people with a learning disability were able to have families, visitors, and carers with them at all times. Hospital passports were available to be completed in paper form if required. Staff completed `getting to know me' forms with patients who had cognitive impairment, upon their admittance to wards. These forms were to help healthcare professionals understand patients' needs and preferences.

Feedback from staff and leaders

Staff followed policy to keep patient care and treatment confidential. Staff understood and respected the personal, cultural, social, and religious needs of patients and how they may relate to care needs.

Observation

During our assessment we observed staff checking patients' wellbeing and offering emotional support. We saw `thank you' cards on all the wards from patients and their families' expressing thanks for the care they had received. We observed staff taking time to help patients with tasks such as finding and cleaning reading glasses.

On the cardiology ward we observed new patients being greeted warmly and staff introducing themselves. The handover between 2 nurses was comprehensive and included the relevant patient information, risks, and additional support.

We observed patients being treated with dignity and respect.

People’s experience

Patients told us they had been treated as individuals and their preferences had been considered. Patients told us that staff had been flexible about visiting times so that they could have the support of family members.

Staff told us that patients could bring a carer or family member with them if they felt like they needed support.

Feedback from staff and leaders

Staff spoke to patients in a way they could understand, and communication aids were available such as laminated cue cards or pictures. Staff told us that patients could bring a carer or family member with them if they felt like they needed support.

Observation

During our assessment we saw patients being asked about their needs and likes or dislikes.

Processes

There was a process for patients and families or carers to provide feedback on their care. The service collated their feedback and used it for making improvements to the patient experience.

People’s experience

Patients had access to occupational therapists for ongoing support and assessments of needs for discharge and ongoing care. Patients told us the service was flexible about visiting times for families, families were able to attend to offer support and care for patients.

Feedback from staff and leaders

Staff we spoke to explained how they support patients to make decisions about their treatment or ongoing care.

Processes

Outcomes of patient surveys were discussed at key meetings and areas for improvements were discussed.

People’s experience

Staff gave patients and those close to them emotional support when they needed it. We saw ‘thank you’ cards in ward areas praising staff for the care they had provided.

Feedback from staff and leaders

The service sought feedback from patients using the NHS Friends and Family Tests. The scores were collected and between 70% to 90% of people scored their experience as positive.

Observation

We saw that staff responded to each other’s needs in a positive and helpful manner. Staff answered call bells quickly and took action to respond to patient’s needs.

Feedback from staff and leaders

Staff could access support from People Support Cafes, which were an opportunity for staff to access health and wellbeing support, and chat to one of the trust People Support Team about anything concerning them. The People Support Team also did ‘Night Walks’ monthly to target night workers to ensure that the support services were shared with all staff.

Staff we spoke to said there was a culture of kindness and respect between colleagues from other organisations. They said there was a good relationship between all levels of staff. Staff told us they had access to support for their own wellbeing through nurse advocates, managers, and their peers.

Staff from different wards handing over patient care spoke to each other with respect and took time to explain patients’ needs and answer questions.

Staff we spoke to from the patient transport services told us they observed staff working well together and supporting each other.

Processes

Staff had access to an Employee Assistance Programme to support staff members’ emotional wellbeing. They could also access a Freedom to Speak Up Guardian. Staff we spoke to were able to identify the guardians and this information was available on the trust intranet.