Cheltenham General Hospital

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• 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 people’s privacy and dignity was respected, 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 remains 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 met a dedicated team of staff who worked well together and witnessed positive and kind interactions, both at reception and by nursing and medical staff. Patients told us they had been “treated kindly by staff.” Patients were able to access basic needs such as food and drink.

The matron had worked extremely hard since their appointment, making difficult decisions but clearly had staff wellbeing and patient safety at the centre of decision making. Staff supported patients to understand and manage their care, treatment or condition. Patients told us they were happy to raise concerns with staff and were confident they would be listened to.

Most patients felt at the centre of their care and treatment and one patient said, “the junior nurse was caring” and made sure they were okay. They felt involved in planning and making shared decisions about their care and treatment. Patients were very understanding of the pressures faced by staff and were satisfied with the standard of care they received and their wait for triage had been timely.

Staff attitudes and behaviours when interacting with patients showed they tried to be discreet, respectful and responsive, providing patients with help, emotional support and advice at the time they needed it. However, patients’ confidentiality and privacy were not always protected during check-in at reception or during triage. People sat in the waiting area could hear conversations at the reception desk due to the layout of the area. Also, we saw patients being assessed whilst the door was left open and staff interrupted to ask the triage nurse questions.

We did not look at Treating people as individuals during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

We did not look at Independence, choice and control during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

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.

The service identified people’s individual communication needs to ensure information was provided in accessible ways. This included making reasonable adjustments for disabled people, interpreting and translation for people for whom English was not their first language and British Sign Language (BSL). Information about what to expect in the ED was available through written leaflets and posters. Staff made information leaflets available in languages spoken by patients. Staff ensured patients could obtain information on treatments, local services, patients’ rights and how to complain.

There was a sign informing patients where they were able to obtain food while waiting in the ED. This included opening hours of the restaurant and how to coordinate food deliveries. The service also provided access to food and drink in the waiting area. There were two vending machines in the waiting area. We witnessed staff offering patients hot drinks.

The service listened to people’s needs. There was a feedback board in the ED showing changes were made from patient feedback. For example, the provision of water jugs and information on how to get food while waiting.

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

There was a disciplinary policy which included information on equality and protected characteristics. Staff had access to support from the trust’s staff advice and support 2020 hub including support for health and wellbeing. There was an employee assistance programme, counselling, occupational health, psychological and trauma support or access to trained peer supporters.

There was a violence and aggression policy supporting staff to feel safe at work and for every service user or visitor to have the right to receiving care without fear of violence or aggression. There was a large sign detailing that violence and abuse would not be tolerated by anyone. The sign detailed the steps the hospital would take if violence or aggression occurred.

Staff we spoke with enjoyed working in the service and felt supported by their supervisors. Nursing students we spoke with praised their mentors.

The trust’s most recent NHS national staff survey (2024) showed low scores for staff involvement in decisions and improvements. In response, leaders responded by introducing monthly ED staff voice huddles (meetings).

There was a sign in the staff area from the ED mental health working group on mental health myth busting, reminding staff that mental health is treatable and removing the stigma around mental health needs.

Parking was a significant issue for staff as there were limited parking permits. Some staff parked on the street and moved their cars in the middle of their shifts. For staff who travelled by bus, the hospital approved taxi usage for staff whose shifts ended after the bus service ceased. There were also park and ride services available.