Agenda item

Select Committee Members are asked to consider the information presented within the report and note the key issues described.

Alex Francis, Team Manager, Healthwatch B&NES addressed the Select Committee. A copy of the update can be found on their Minute Book and as an online appendix to these minutes, a summary of the update is set out below.

ENTER AND VIEW VISIT – PAULTON HOSPITAL

On Tuesday 21 November 2017, a team of three Healthwatch volunteers and two members of staff visited Paulton Memorial Hospital. The purpose of this enter and view visit was to observe services at the Minor Injuries Unit and visit the John Stacey Ward. In addition to observation, representatives also wanted to gather feedback from staff, patients and their families about their experiences of care at Paulton Memorial Hospital.

Healthwatch Bath and North East Somerset volunteers observed good care for patients attending the hospital and using the waiting room. They were very grateful to the staff, patient and relatives that gave the time to talk to us.

Here is a summary of the report findings:

MINOR INJURIES UNIT WAITING AREA

Healthwatch volunteers spoke with patients and their families in the waiting room. Patients were waiting for a variety of services including X-ray, podiatry, dietetics, physiotherapy and the Minor Injuries Unit.

Parking

The patients that we spoke with had had bad experiences of parking that morning, as did the Healthwatch volunteers. This appears to be something that resonated with all of the patients that we spoke to. When we spoke to staff they explained that the League of Friends had tried to purchase land to extend the car park but this had been unsuccessful.

Patient experience

Patients were positive about services stating that staff could not be nicer and the reception staff are really friendly. Some of the relatives we spoke to were waiting while their loved one was being seen. Some of the things they felt would improve their experience were: access to a café, access to WiFi, and signage displaying expected waiting times as seen in other NHS services.

Accessible Information Standard

Patients and their families were asked if they were aware of the Accessible Information Standard and whether they had been asked on arrival if they had any communication needs or would require information in a particular format. Of the patients Healthwatch talked with during the visit, none were aware of the Accessible Information Standard, nor had they been asked about their communication needs either before the visit or on arrival.

JOHN STACEY WARD:

This ward comprises 28 beds, used for rehabilitation for people aged 18 years and over, although most patients are aged over 65. Healthwatch were welcomed by staff and given a full brief of the work carried out. Healthwatch were told that a patient’s maximum stay on the John Stacey Ward is 21 days, but many stay longer and often for six weeks, particularly when they need social care access and reablement is at full capacity. At the time of the visit, 27 of the 28 beds were in use, with the expectation that the last bed would be full by the end of the day.

Staff shared their experiences of transition to Virgin Care. It was felt that this had not been seamless due to differences around systems and processes, although staff said things are improving and Virgin Care are listening to staff concerns. One concern expressed by clinical staff was that the online training provided by Virgin Care does not fit their training needs as well as face-to-face interaction. Again staff are seeing improvement with some training, such as basic life support and manual handling, now being available face-to-face at the training hub in Keynsham.

Healthwatch volunteers asked about the Accessible Information Standard. They were informed that each patient is assessed when they arrive and any access requirements they have for communication will be implemented. Staff gave examples of accessing the hard of hearing communicator from St Martin’s Hospital, and using communication cards and basic sign language to support patients with profound hearing loss. For patients with a learning disability, the ward taps into community links to communicate and uses patients’ families as a backup.

The full Enter and View report and the service provider’s responses have been shared with the Care Quality Commission, Healthwatch England, B&NES Council and BaNES Clinical Commissioning Group. The full report can be viewed online W: www.healthwatchbathnes.co.uk

HEALTHWATCH B&NES CONTRACT: 1 APRIL 2018 – 31 MARCH 2021

The Care Forum is pleased to announce that following a tender process we have been re-awarded the contract for Healthwatch B&NES. The contract will run from the 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2021.

We would like to especially thank the volunteers who make this project so effective, the advisory group who direct the work plan and provide local insight and connections, and also the staff team who deliver high quality engagement, volunteer support and communications work.

The project is being slightly refocused, with the headlines as follows:

·  We want to hear as many local voices as possible and so from now on our Executive Board will be supported by a quarterly planning group of local people, voluntary sector organisations and other partners who will bring intelligence for Healthwatch to follow up. Healthwatch needs to be led by local people; we have some excellent established Board leads who we hope will continue, and some opportunities for others to get involved too!

·  Our funding model will award small grants to local expert partners to deliver work on behalf of Healthwatch. This will take place via our established Health and Wellbeing Network, which will continue alongside our quarterly planning group. Voluntary sector partners who are regular members of the network will be invited to submit bids for funding to deliver work that supports the aims of Healthwatch for quarters three and four of 2018/19, and in subsequent years also.

·  Healthwatch is being focused to ensure our approaches meet the needs of everyone. We will make use of social media and emerging communications tools to reach people in ways that suit them. For those who don’t or can’t use the internet, we will protect engagement time to hear from local people in ways that best suit their needs.

Councillor Eleanor Jackson if she knew of the reason why there was an empty ward at Paulton Hospital.

Alex Francis and the Director for Integrated Health & Care Commissioning replied that they would try to find out why this was.

The Chair thanked Alex Francis for the update on behalf of the Select Committee.