Pilgrim 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

We rated caring as good. We assessed 2 quality statements. Staff always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and we respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated people as individuals and made sure their care, support and treatment met their needs and preferences.

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 we spoke with told us staff were discreet and responsive when caring for patients. Staff took time to interact with patients and those close to them in a respectful and considerate way. Patients told us staff always respected their privacy and confidentiality, were kind and caring and treated them with dignity and respect. Patients and their families gave positive feedback about the way staff supported and involved them.

Staff made sure patients and those close to them understood their care and treatment. Staff supported patients to make informed decisions about their care. Staff told us although they were busy, they would talk to patients about their care and answer any questions they may have. Patients and their families could give feedback on the service via the Friends and Family Test and staff supported them to do this.

We observed staff interacting with patients in a way that enabled them time to ask questions, gain clarity and an understanding of treatment and care. We saw staff knocking on patient doors before they entered and closing doors behind them.

Staff gave patients and those close to them help, emotional support and advice when they needed it. We saw staff were positive and attentive to the needs of patients. For example, we observed on one of the wards we visited that a patient who was not wearing their hearing aid have a conversation with a nurse. The nurse spoke clearly and made sure the patient could see their face when they were speaking. Staff understood the emotional and social impact that a person’s care, treatment, or condition had on their wellbeing and on those close to them.

Patients and families told us staff asked questions to learn about who they were and if they had any specific physical, emotional, or cultural needs. Staff took time to interact with patients and those close to them in a respectful and considerate way. Staff followed the policy to keep patient care and treatment confidential. Patients told us staff always respected their privacy and confidentiality.

Staff we spoke with understood and respected the individual needs of each patient and showed understanding and a non-judgemental attitude when discussing their care with them or other healthcare professionals. Staff told us they always asked patients for the preferred name and used this and made sure other staff knew and used their preferred name.

Staff we spoke with said they had access translation or interpretation services if needed. The service had information leaflets available in languages spoken by the patients and local community.

We observed staff were knowledgeable when speaking to patients about the reason they were in hospital and the treatment they were receiving. The Trust had a chaplaincy team, who provided spiritual care for all patients and staff. The chaplaincy service was always available. Out of hours they were contacted via the hospital switchboard and staff we asked were aware of how to contact them.

The service had guidance for caring for people with specific needs, including bariatric patients, maternal patients, newborn babies, and those patients with acute mental health issues.

There were processes to support peoples’ individual lifestyle choices, so people were not discriminated against. For example, there were vegan choices on the hospital menu. Vegans are a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.

We did not look at Independence, choice and control during this assessment. There is no previous rating for the Caring key question so we cannot yet publish a score for this area.

We did not look at Responding to people’s immediate needs during this assessment. There is no previous rating for the Caring key question so we cannot yet publish a score for this area.

We did not look at Workforce wellbeing and enablement during this assessment. There is no previous rating for the Caring key question so we cannot yet publish a score for this area.