"The care my mum received"

Dear AlanaY,

Many thanks for taking the time to post your comments. I am delighted to hear that you felt that the care your mum received was excellent throughout her stay. I will thank Haley on your behalf and will share your lovely words with her as she will be delighted to know that she was able to help your mum at her most vulnerable time.

The approach to visiting varies across Scotland between Health Boards and indeed between hospitals within the same Health Board. NHS Lanarkshire was the first to sign up to John’s Campaign in 2015; find out more here https://www.careopinion.org.uk/blogposts/456/we-are-listening---to-johns-campaign

We are committed to all our patients and families affected by dementia and our pledge ensures they are able to be together without restriction. It’s proven that this approach is beneficial to patient outcomes as well as for families. As you mention, we always permit access for families around the clock if their relative is receiving palliative or end of life care.

This approach has enabled staff and relatives to work together and support each other to provide truly person-centred care. The decision to move to open visiting was as a result of the positive patient outcomes we saw with this approach and to reduce confusion and frustration for patients and families who did not fall into these categories.

I recognise and acknowledge the feedback you have provided and I apologise that you felt it was not helpful for staff or patients. I accept that it might not be right for some patients, particularly those in shared rooms but we are developing individualised visiting plans in conjunction with patients to meet their individual wishes.

We also recognise the importance of maintaining confidentiality and people’s privacy and dignity and will ask people to leave the room when people are receiving personalised care. We have produced information posters to inform visitors of this and I would be keen to hear from you if this was not your experience.

Gillian McAuley, our Chief Nurse, meets with ward managers regularly and the benefits and challenges associated with visiting are discussed, as well as any feedback we receive from patients and families, so we are constantly evaluating this.

I hope that your mum is recovering well,

Best Wishes

Maureen