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Care Opinion

Thanks And Suggestions

Posted By Torlass

"Thanks And Suggestions"

About: Torbay Hospital

(as a service user),

I have had the need to be seen and treated at Torbay Hospital.  I would like to thank staff in Oncology,  Ricky and the Breast Unit who can perform their duty competently as well as with empathy and respect.   I accept not all are able to do that, but I find it makes attending appointments more bearable. 

From my brief experiences, I would like to make some simple suggestions.  These should not incur major cost yet will improve dignity and respect for patients in my opinion. 

1. I found it inappropriate to be given an old uniform  tunic to wrap around myself after undressing.  Please can you obtain some proper examination capes for the Breast Unit/hospital.

2. Attending scans such as echo scans.  Please could that department amend the standard letter that requests patients attend 15 minutes before appointment time for tests that may be needed. This does not seem to be a requirement for all procedures. It was not for me yet it was on my letter. Please be respectful of patient's time.  
If some patients need to attend 15 minutes for pre-scan tests then give them an appointment 15 minutes earlier. 

3. Whilst undressing for a scan, I was left on my own in the scanning room.  I had clear access to a computer screen listing patient's names and other details.  There were also  personal files and information left lying on a desk. 
Perhaps you should think about providing separate changing facilities so that this does not need to be done in the actual scanning room/active working environment.  Alternatively,  please remind staff of their duty to protect personal information.
Thank you. 

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Responses

Response from Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust 5 years ago
Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 09/05/2018 at 10:02
Published on Care Opinion at 10:44

Dear Patient,

Thank you for the feedback and suggestions you have made with regards to your recent experience at Torbay Hospital and in particular Oncology, Ricky Grant and the Breast Screening Unit.

We would like the opportunity to discuss your experience with you and try our best to improve our standards.

If you are happy to talk to us about this, please contact our Patient Advice & Liaison Service (PALS) so they can look into it in more detail.

A PALS Officer is available in person, Monday to Friday, between 09.00am and 4.00pm. You can contact them by calling 01803 655838 or on our 24 hour freephone number 0800 02 82 037. If you get through to the voicemail service please leave your contact details and you will receive a call back within two working days. PALS can also be contacted by Text Phone on 01803 654742, or via email to tsdft.feedback@nhs.net (your email will go direct to our PALS Service).

We look forward to hearing from you so that we can address the issues you have raised.

Kind regards

Feedback and Engagement Team

Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust

Update posted by Torlass (a service user)

Thank you Feedback and Engagement Team. However, I do not feel there is a need to directly engage about this matter. I have listed a number of items that could have easily been responded to directly on this website and then Torbay could show publicly how they attend to such matters. It could be just simply someone asking the Breast Care Unit why they are using old tunics etc etc. and then getting people to do something about it rather than making these things long and drawn out bureaucratic affairs. By the way, Oncology had breast examination capes available so it is good to see that they do exist at the hospital. Are you saying that you cannot do anything about a matter unless someone directly engages with you?

Regards,

Response from Hayley Warrilow, Patient Advice and Liaison (PALS) and Complaints Manager, Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust 5 years ago
Hayley Warrilow
Patient Advice and Liaison (PALS) and Complaints Manager,
Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 22/06/2018 at 12:14
Published on Care Opinion at 12:18

Thank you for your comments. Please see the responses below to your questions.

1) The Gowns are currently being altered so that they open all the way at the front and are not old uniforms but specially designed for the Breast Care Unit and can be put on or draped over the front of the patient.

2) We will look to review our administration procedures and amend them accordingly.

3) It is not usual practice to ask patients to undress in a clinical room, the usual process involves being shown to a changing cubicle where the patient is asked to undress to the waist and are given a clean gown to put on. Patients are provided with a basket for their clothes/belongings which is to be taken with them into the inner waiting area which is outside the examination rooms. Patients are then called from this waiting area into the x-ray or ultrasound room. Present in the x-ray room is a radiographer and possibly a trainee and in the ultrasound room is a clinician (radiologist or advanced practitioner radiographer) and a support worker. We do not routinely leave patients alone in these rooms.

There are 2 large image monitors and a computer in each ultrasound room together with the monitor on the ultrasound machine. A work list would be accessed on 2 of the monitors, however prior to calling a patient into the ultrasound room it is our usual practice to access that individual patient’s records and images so no-other patient records would be on display. We do not keep patients notes in the imaging department of the Breast Care Unit. The only clinic these are accessed for are a triple assessment clinic where the notes follow the patient throughout their patient journey, therefore the only notes in the room would belong to the patient undergoing the examination. There could be imaging request forms in the room but these would be face down so not displaying patient details.

We would like to thank you for your positive feedback and for detailing where improvements can be made. We are very sorry to hear that our routine practice was not followed on this occasion. We will remind the team about their duty to protect personal information at all times. Unfortunately, without any exact details it is impossible for us to know who was working in the clinic on that day so we are unable to establish what circumstances led us to stray from our usual practice of patient confidentiality.

Should you wish to discuss further, please do not hesitate to contact the PALS Team on 01803 655838.

Kind Regards

Feedback and Engagement Team

Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful

Update posted by Torlass (a service user)

Hello Torbay,

Thanks for the above response.

1. I recognise it may be difficult for medical staff and institutions to begin with an apology. What you describe may indeed be the case now. However it was not on the day I visited. Even the nurse in attendance commented on the old tunic uniform given to wrap around my chest area but said it was clean. I feel that your response was trying to make out I was some kind of fool.

2 and 3. If this is what occurs in the Breast Unit Scanning areas then it is very commendable but is irrelevant to my feedback. However it may be useful if the standards of good practice were passed on to other hospital departments who I feel fall short in the ways I originally stated. My scan was for an echo undertaken by Cardiology Physiologists, Heart and Lung Outpatients Dept. In my experience, what you describe certainly does not happen there.

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