Enter & View report: Gwynne Holford Ward, Queen Mary’s Hospital
What we did
The report is based on a December 2016 visit by three volunteers and three staff members from Healthwatch Richmond. The visit followed comments from patients, as well as a Care Quality Commission report that rated the ward ‘inadequate’ but praised compassionate care.
For each Enter & View visit, Healthwatch Richmond uses its statutory powers to visit wards, talk to patients, relatives and staff, and request information, so it can make recommendations for improvement.
Summary
The report found that the care on the 36 bed ward was of a high standard during the visit, with enough staff on duty. The ward was clean and well kept.
- Patients appeared well cared for, and as a whole their comments were positive.
- Staff worked well together to help them regain independence. Staff were “top notch” and “all very good at their job”
- Patients raised some concerns around the food, including some comments that nutritional needs could be better served.
- There was also mixed awareness of activities on offer.
- While most patients felt enough staff were on duty, and staff vacancies had reduced, the ward had had difficulty recruiting band 5 nurses, who are typically entry level staff.
Our recommendations asks for ward managers to provide information on the success of the following initiatives: recruitment measures; steps to minimise the risk of patient falls; promoting activities; improving catering; improving teamwork; changing discharge; administrative support.
Downloads
The full report offers extensive detail on these areas and others including care planning, discharge planning, staffing levels and medicine management.
