Bassetlaw District General 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

This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

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.

Parents, children and young people told us their care was of a high standard, and staff treated them with compassion and kindness, this was confirmed in the annual patient experience report.

We saw staff were compassionate, discreet, respectful, and responsive. They provided help, emotional support, and advice when patients needed it.

Parents and carers had access to a parent room for refreshments and received meals whilst on the ward. Parents and carers also had access to overnight beds in each side room.

Children had access to a variety of play activities, suitable to their age. Play staff covered all children’s departments ensuring activities were available and supporting children with difficult procedures such and blood tests.

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

Children and young people were moved into a side room to provide privacy and dignity where needed.

Staff used an electronic language service to support patients whose first language was not English. We saw electronic patient information leaflets available in other languages within the department.

In outpatients, staff reviewed children and young people’s notes the day before their appointment to identify any complex needs and if any further support or reasonable adjustments were required. Staff worked with parents and carers for children and young people who were new to understand and support their needs.

We observed a child and their family who had arrived early for their outpatient appointment being accommodated to be seen earlier to avoid a longer waiting time.

The Trust monitored attendance of children and young people by ethnicity and religious needs to enable them to develop the services to meet the needs of the local population.

The trust had an equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) policy in place which supported staff to deliver inclusive care and reduce inequalities. Staff had completed a range of additional training which including health inequalities, mental health needs and restrictive practice. This supported staff to recognise and respond to the diverse needs of children and young people.

Information about care, treatment, services and how to raise concerns was accessible and provided in formats suitable for children, young people and their families, including easy-read materials and translated information where required.

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

Parents, children and young people told us they were given information in a way they could understand, which helped them to make the right choices for themselves.

We observed staff explaining care and treatment to parents, children and young people in the outpatient’s department and the ward. Staff spent time ensuring that they had time to ask questions.

Opportunities were available for children and young people (CYP) and their families to provide feedback on their experiences, including through annual patient surveys and feedback forms. This supported the service to understand and respond to people’s views. There were information packs at the end of each bed/cot which encourage parents to ask questions and feedback anything about which they were concerned.

Staff had completed additional training to support children with mental health needs, learning disabilities and autism. Compliance with mental health awareness training and Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism Level 1 was high, which supported staff to meet individual needs and promote inclusive care.

However, compliance with face-to-face Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism (Tier 1 and Tier 2) was variable across staff groups, ranging from 27% to 80%. This meant the service could not fully assure that all staff had the advanced skills required to consistently support children and young people with complex needs.

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.

Patients told us they were given information in a way they could understand. This meant they were empowered to make the right choices for themselves.

We observed patients and their carers being responded to promptly. Staff recognised and responded to changes in CYP needs and risks, adapting care accordingly. Communication needs were well supported through access to professional interpreting and signing services.

Feedback from the 2024/25 patient survey was mainly positive, particularly in relation to staff support and communication. However, some concerns were identified regarding inconsistencies in communication between staff and differing information provided about treatment. This indicated that communication was not always consistent across the service.

The play team provided a five-day service and played a key role in supporting communication and reducing anxiety. The service had also worked in partnership with a local deaf school to improve accessibility, including initiatives such as the ‘Little Voices’ visit.

Spiritual support was available for children and families. In the event of a child’s death, dedicated staff were allocated to support families through the process. This included providing clear information, emotional support and memory boxes. Staff had received training in child death review processes, supporting compassionate and sensitive care during bereavement.

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

All staff were extremely positive about the support they received for their work and wellbeing from both managers and colleagues. Several staff described the team as “like a family” and told us they had worked in the service for many years.

We spoke with two student nurses, who were very positive about the support they had received from the Children’s Assessment Unit whilst on placement.

All staff we observed were courteous and respectful to each other. The 2025 NHS staff survey indicated that not all staff felt they were treated with kindness and respect. There was a review in place to address some of these themes. Please see Shared Direction and Culture for further information.