St Richard's Hospital

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

We looked for evidence that people and communities were always at the centre of how care was planned and delivered. We checked that the health and care needs of people and communities were understood, and they were actively involved in planning care that met these needs. We also looked for evidence that people could access care in ways that met their personal circumstances and protected equality characteristics.People could access care and treatment when they needed it in a variety of ways.

At our last assessment we rated this key question outstanding. At this assessment the rating has changed to good. We assessed all quality statements in this key question.

The service supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs. The service was aware of system pressures and sought to develop services that met the changing needs of children and young people.

We have not awarded this service a score for Responsive.

Find out about when we will not publish a key question score and what we look at when we assess Responsive.

The service was good at making sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs.

The service made sure children, young people and their families were at the centre of their care and treatment choices wherever possible. We saw that staff took care to include the views of all relevant people when planning care. Care plans reflected physical, mental, emotional, and social needs of children and young people including those related to protected characteristics under the Equality Act.

People with specific care needs were supported as individuals and those needs met. Staff undertook risk assessments to identify specific needs such as nutrition, hydration, mobility, and falls risks. Staff made reasonable adjustments to help children and young people remain independent. A playroom was staffed during the weekdays with play therapists who could adapt educational play to the needs of the child. The young person lounge was available within the area designated for young people and had sufficient equipment to meet the needs of children and young people. There were sufficient bays that boys and girls could be separated within this area.

We saw positive interactions between staff, children and young people and families or carers. Staff made sure children and young people living with mental ill health, and learning disabilities, received the necessary care to meet all their needs. Staff had had specific training to care for children and young people with mental ill health. The increase in the numbers of children that were admitted due mental ill health had led to extra training and support so that staff saw this as part of their everyday business.

Equipment was available to care for children and young people with complex needs. High sided beds were available. However, we noticed a child without one, a member of staff also queried if the child needed one. The bed was immediately replaced. This child had come in overnight, and a bed had been made safe for them in the early hours. Beds and comfortable chairs were available for parents and carers.

Young people, parents, carers and children who wished to have food delivered to the ward instead of the meal options available were enabled to do this. A charity provided a takeaway on a Friday evening for parents, carers, children and young people. This was a regular occurrence and included the special care baby unit parents and maternity unit parents and parents to be. The food and drink supplied in the parents’ lounge was also funded by a charity. Children and young people could access food and drink whenever they wished to as kitchens were available on the ward area.

The service understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.

Children and families receive care and treatment from services that understand the diverse health and social care needs of their local communities. Despite Chichester being a significantly white middle-aged area staff were aware of the diverse needs of the children and young people that attended the children and young people’s areas. The number of children aged 0-15 in Chichester has increased by 5.9% since 2013 and currently makes up 15.5 % of the total population. This meant that some services had been moved to other locations across the trust.

There was continuity in children’s care and treatment because services were flexible and joined up. Children’s care and treatment is delivered in a way that meets their assessed needs from services that were co-ordinated and responsive. Delivering and co-ordinating services considers the needs and preferences of different children and families, including those with protected characteristics under the Equality Act and those at most risk of a poorer experience of care. As described above the service including the consultants were aware of the pitfalls in transition from childhood services to adult services. They worked hard both on an individual level and on a service level to ensure that there were good pathways and that young people felt supported. The service had a plan in place to ensure that there was equity of access to all adult services.

The service supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

The service supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs. We saw information in the parent’s room that parents and carers could access about their child’s care and treatment. In the playroom there were books for children of all ages giving them information about a variety of conditions, treatments and investigations. In the milk room there was information on feeding and storage of milk. This included breast and formula milk. Safe sleep posters were on the walls as were posters telling parents and carers what to do if they were concerned about their child or their care. Within the children’s outpatient department there were leaflets on a variety of issues for parents, carers and children. Children, young people and families knew how to access their health and care records and decide which personal information can be shared with other people, including their family, care staff, school or college. Information about children and families that is collected and shared meets data protection legislation requirements.

The service made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. They involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result.

The service made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. There were posters throughout the children’s department telling parents, carers and family about what to do if they were concerned about their child or the care they were receiving. The service received two complaints in the previous year. We reviewed two complaints and saw that these were regarding access to services on the St Richard’s site. Parents and carers did not always understand the need to travel to other hospitals in the trust for specialised services. They involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result. When complaints were received the patient safety lead called the parent or spoke with the young person to ensure that they fully understood the complaint. They tried to resolve the complaint at this point. If they were unable to do so they would investigate, keeping the parents, carers or young person informed of progress. Most informal complaints were dealt with on the ward and outpatient areas. There had been no complaints escalated to the ombudsman service in the previous year.

Eleven families provided feedback about responsiveness in the year to September 2025. Eight were positive, reflecting the speed of response and timeliness of care, of nursing staff. Three were negative, citing a lack of responsiveness from doctors such as the timeliness of being seen when admitted to the ward.

The friends and family test for September included 195 responses of which nearly 95% were positive. Parents and carers felt that the staff were “incredibly attentive and thorough and kind and caring. The facilities at St Richards were fantastic too”.

The service made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

The service made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it. Not all care was provided on the St Richards Hospital site parents and carers sometimes had to take their children elsewhere for specialised services. Parents and carers found this difficult when they lacked transport and frustrating when they attended the emergency department.

Children and young people did not experience discrimination or inequality. People with additional needs had reasonable adjustments made for them such as for people with disabilities, those with communication difficulties or cognitive impairment or those who had substance misuse issues. We saw on the ward how care was adapted to a child with complex needs during our inspection. People were listened to when they wanted to share their experience. Staff worked hard to remove any barriers to access for children and young people. The youth support worker supported the vulnerable children and young people to access care. There was a strong culture to prevent discrimination and inequalities supported by training, guidance and specialist nursing and care staff.

Staff were acutely aware of unseen disabilities an example of this was the healthcare assistant who acquired a sensory box for children who were neurodiverse and waiting in the outpatient department. The youth support worker, who supported children and young people, worked with the vulnerable child or young person, such as the homeless or those in care, were given extra support in order that they felt less disadvantaged. This included the provision of clothing and top ups for their mobile phone if necessary. This allowed this group of children and young people to feel equal to others in the ward environment and to receive support from those close to them via the telephone. Ward staff and others coordinated discharge to ensure packages of care or support was available to those who required ongoing support at home.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this.

Staff and leaders listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this.

The youth worker highlighted issues and challenges that affected children, and young people most likely to experience inequality. Leaders and staff are alert to discrimination and inequality that could disadvantage different groups of children and families using their services. This included those from wider society, organisational processes and culture or from individuals. An example given was a young person involved in illegal drug use who needed extra support. The youth support worker proactively sought out ways to address these barriers to improve people’s experience, act on information about children’s experiences and outcomes and allocate resources and opportunities to achieve equity. They used this to train the care team as to the challenges children and young people experienced in their locality. Staff were trained in equality, diversity, inclusion and human rights.

People were supported by planning for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life.

Children, young people and their parents or carers were supported to plan for important life changes. This was so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life. Children or young people who may be approaching the end of their life were identified by staff. This included those with protected characteristics under the Equality Act and people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable. This information is shared with other services and staff to support the child, young person and their family.

Children and young people’s decisions and what matters to them are delivered through personalised care plans that are shared with others who may need to be informed. When children and families want to express their wishes about cardiopulmonary resuscitation, they are supported to do so and can change their mind if they wish.

When any treatment is changed or withdrawn, professionals communicate and manage this openly and sensitively so that children have a comfortable and dignified death. The trust works in collaboration with a service called Coast which is provided by the mental health trust. This was a new service designed with dedicated consultant to provide outreach and symptom management. We heard that its implementation was slow. However, there was access to support 24 hours every day. The clinical nurse specialists provided support training and development to staff on the ward and departments.