Salisbury District 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

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 good. At this assessment the rating has remained good.

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 people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

We observed staff speaking kindly to patients and their relatives. We saw a patient who was unsteady on their feet and staff supported and assisted them into their bed.

Staff drew privacy curtains and closed cubicle doors when providing care. We observed staff lowering their tone and volume of their voice in order to maintain privacy.

We observed appropriate conversations between medical staff, patients and family members about treatment plans and options. We saw there were private family rooms where staff could take families and carers, when delivering bad news.

Patients described staff as brilliant, wonderful, courteous and respectful. One patient said staff were “all so kind and friendly”. The friends and family test between December 2024 to June 2025 showed 93.67% of 3000 respondents gave positive feedback for medical services.

At handover meetings, staff routinely referred to the psychological and emotional needs of patients, their relatives, and carers.

The service treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences.

Staff talked to patients in a way they could understand, using communication aids where necessary. There were interpreting services available when required.

Staff held regular and effective multidisciplinary meetings to discuss patients and highlighted issues and outstanding tasks through daily huddles and patient safety summit meetings.

Staff supported patients to understand their treatment and had good knowledge of the communication resources, and options available to them.

The service did not always promote people’s independence, so people did not always know their rights and have choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

The service did not always inform people about their care and treatment so people not always know what was happening. We spoke with 20 patients during our assessment. While most patients said they were fully informed about their care and treatment, this wasn’t the case for all patients. Out of the 20 patients, five told us they were not kept informed about their treatment plans. A patient told us ‘I don’t know what’s happening.’ Another patient told us, ‘I had scans but I don’t know what’s planned after that’.

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

All inpatient ward areas had quiet rooms accessible for patient, friends and family use. These rooms were also used to support conversations and communications which required a quieter environment.

In addition to the quiet rooms, there was a multifaith chapel within the heart of the hospital which served as a quiet and inclusive sanctuary, offering spiritual support and solace to patients, visitors, and staff of all faiths and beliefs.

Staff understood and respected the individual needs of each patient and showed understanding and a non-judgmental attitude when caring for or discussing patients with mental health needs. For example, we saw a patient experiencing memory issues who was exploring their environment but clearly unsteady on their feet. We saw various members of staff attending to the patient to ensure they were safety supported back into bed.

We observed staff responding to people’s needs quickly without delay and call bells were answered swiftly within a minute or 2.

We spoke with patients who told us that staff were good with giving medicines on time. Patients we spoke with told us that staff asked if they were in pain and offered pain relief.

The wards employed volunteers who offered teas and snacks to patients and families. Staff told us volunteers worked closely with them and often sat with patients and provided them with companionship.

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 received support and took part in clinical incident reviews and debriefs following a difficult event.

Staff within medicine and endoscopy had access to the employee assistance program which provided support 24 hours, 7 days a week. The hospital also provided staff with counselling, support with needlesticks injuries, and physiotherapy sessions through their occupational health program.

In addition to this, staff could use a QR code to access the hospital wellbeing portal which provided staff with advice and signposting to appropriate program such as psychological support, financial assistance and specialist bereavement.

Staff felt supported, respected and valued by their managers in all areas we visited. Supervision was seen as supportive and managers approachable. We saw that staff were encouraged to speak up.

International staff spoke positively about their induction, and their welcome to the trust. They had equal opportunities to career development opportunities and were encouraged to apply for developmental positions. Staff told us they received annual appraisals to discuss career developments but also had daily opportunities to speak with senior staff about opportunities to progress.