- NHS hospital
Great Western Hospital
Report from 9 September 2024 assessment
Contents
Ratings - Medical care (Including older people's care)
Our view of the service
Date of assessment: 16 May to 28 June 2024. Medical care sits in the Division of Medicine at Great Western Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Unscheduled care in the NHS refers to medical treatment that cannot be planned or scheduled in advance. There were 320 beds located across 10 wards. The medical care service was provided for adults. We visited 4 wards, including medical wards and the surgical wards where patients are placed when medical wards are over capacity/full. We spoke with 9 patients or their relatives and 21 staff. We looked at quality statements across all 5 key questions: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-Led. The service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Staff understood how to protect patients from abuse and managed safety well. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them. Staff provided good care and treatment and gave patients pain relief when they needed it. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients and supported them to make decisions about their care. Staff treated patients, their relatives and visitors with compassion and kindness. The service prioritised patients’ individual needs. Leaders mostly ran services well using reliable information systems. However, patient records were not always stored securely, patient pathways and corridor waits did not always ensure patient dignity, and the service did not always manage infection prevention and control well. The provider was informed of these concerns and acted immediately to resolve them.
People's experience of this service
People told us they felt safe and felt confident to raise any concerns. People told us they were involved in planning their care and making decisions about their treatment and discharge. They said they were asked for feedback regularly. Patients told us they were supported by friendly and dedicated staff, who provided excellent care despite staffing challenges. However, while people appreciated staff’s efforts to accommodate to their needs, issues were raised around privacy and dignity during corridor waits.