Enter and View Report: The Emergency Department at the Royal Sussex County Hospital March 2024
Friday 22nd March 2024, two trained DBS-checked Enter and View volunteer lay assessors visited the Emergency Department at the Royal Sussex County Hospital.
The team talked with seven patients and their relatives and asked for their views on their experience of the Emergency Department including whether they had been able to access refreshments or been offered any; whether they had been kept informed on waiting times; had they been offered pain relief whilst waiting; whether they were comfortable and what one thing would improve their experience. They were also free to discuss any aspects raised by the people they met.
You can read our full report, which is available to download at the end of this page.
Overall:
The lay assessors scored the Urgent Treatment Centre, Ambulatory Clinical Decision Unit and Enhanced Observation Unit all highly for the environment being 11 welcoming, safe, caring, well-organised and calm, with the scores ranging from between eight to ten out of ten (average score 8.75). However, the lay assessors scored the Emergency Department Reception and Majors and Resus much lower, with scores ranging from between four to eight out of ten (average score of 5.25). The most pertinent recommendations provided by the lay assessors were more staff presence in the receiving and waiting areas, improved signage to where refreshments can be purchased, and patients needing quicker access to painkillers.
The lay assessors reported that the visit felt like hardworking, dedicated staff were working extraordinarily hard to deliver care in an environment that was not fit for purpose. They reported that the background areas away from the frontline are working much better.
The lay assessors spoke to seven people during their visit to the Emergency Department. Patients reported mixed attitudes towards the staff; one felt that the staff had not been welcoming, and on the other hand, another reported that the staff were amazing and doing their best. In general, patients felt that communication from the staff could be better, by providing information on where refreshments could be bought and an indication of waiting times. Finally, patients reported long waits. However, the lay assessors got the impression that patients have unrealistic expectations of waiting times. One patient they spoke to said that they had been waiting nearly an hour for triage. The lay assessors think there is a need to manage patient's expectations
Healthwatch Enter and View Report: The Emergency Department at the Royal Sussex County Hospital March 2024
Conversations with Patients
"I spoke to a woman at 11.40am, she was feeling unwell and sitting with her daughter. The woman told me that they arrived at 10 am and collapsed, her daughter had to get a wheelchair, however, no clinicians or paramedics helped her. The woman had received triage but had still not been called for treatment. The woman said that ‘no-one has been helpful or welcoming."
"The patient was attending for the second time and had been waiting for 3 hrs and 50 minutes. At their first visit, they waited seven hours and decided to leave because they had not seen anyone and were in a lot of pain. On this visit he has been seen, painkillers have been organised and a scan is 10 due. He was called when I was with him. There was a sense of acceptance of the long waits by the patients."
"An elderly patient in a wheelchair with her two daughters had been triaged and has had an x-ray. They were waiting for painkillers and their x-ray result. They had been waiting for 2 hours and 45 minutes and one daughter told me that ‘all staff were amazing, they do their best."
"A patient I spoke to expressed frustration and confusion as to why so much money had been spent on the Louisa Martindale Building and no money had been spent on the ED, she said it had not changed for over 10 years."
"I have been waiting in ED for 3 and a half hours. I have been seen by doctors (also had triage and bloods). I am waiting now for a hydration drip. Nobody has offered me water or told me where I can go to buy some food to keep me going."
"I have no idea how much longer I will be waiting. When I first arrived there was no information on waiting and treatment times."
"The system here in (ED) is bizarre. I arrived with a pulse rate of 190 and I have been waiting for two hours to be seen and yet a really drunk person who arrived at the same time as me was seen straightaway. Where is the logic?"
