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Visiting Rampton

Posted By A N Other-Carer

"Visiting Rampton"

About: Rampton Hospital

(as a carer),

I booked a patient visit several weeks ago by phone. At reception I was told there was no paperwork for me. Reception phoned the ward and the visit was not down in the diary! I double checked the dates at least twice when booking the visits and was told they were in the diary. 

The reception staff were great and after a significant wait the visit did go ahead, but was 40 mins shorter than usual. I also arrived extremely stressed.

Relying on staff to write things in diaries and raise paperwork to be sent to reception just isn't good enough in this day and age. I would expect a much slicker process with confirmation being given to the visitor. 

This is not the first time it has happened to me and I have been told it has happened to lots of other visitors. 

I often manage to find time to phone the day before to check that everything has been done, but that is not always possible and is often very time consuming as wards are engaged or ask you to phone again later as they are busy.

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Responses

Response from Peter Wright, Executive Director, Forensic Services, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust 4 years ago
Peter Wright
Executive Director, Forensic Services,
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 18/10/2019 at 11:34
Published on Care Opinion at 11:34

Thanks for this posting. I am sorry you had this experience but at least you were able to have the visit, albeit delayed. I'm interested in your point about making the booking of visits slicker and I'll ask for you to be given a response on this point.


Best wishes.

Peter

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Response from Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust 4 years ago
We are preparing to make a change
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust

Submitted on 18/10/2019 at 11:49
Published on Care Opinion on 22/10/2019 at 10:54

Thank you for taking the time to post your experience about visiting Rampton Hospital

I'm so sorry to hear that your experience of booking visits has not been satisfactory. I will look into how we can improve this for all visitors, as we understand how important visiting is for patients and their friends and family.

I'm really pleased you were able to visit,albeit for a shorter time than you had planned and will pass on your compliments to the Reception staff who do a great job to ensure visits are facilitated.

We do run quarterly Carer events which update Carers about changes we are planning,and currently we are reviewing how we organise visits. You are very welcome to join us at our next Carer event on Sat 7th Dec to work to improve our services to patients and their families.

Lynne Corcoran

Head of Forensic Social Care

Notts Healthcare

Update posted by A N Other-Carer (a carer)

Hi Peter

Thanks for your prompt response. I hate complaining but really wanted to raise the profile of this issue as it has a huge impact on carers, especially those that have travelled a long way to visit, only to be told that there is no record of the visit being arranged.

The current system relies on the member of staff on the ward that takes the call to write the details of the visit in a paper-based diary, and then for the ward to raise the paperwork the day before the visit (I think) and send it through to reception. The process can and does fail at either stage, the worst case being if the visit doesn't make it to the diary. You can repeat the details over the phone several times and be reassured that it is all in the diary and when you turn up it isn't. The onus is totally on the visitor to phone reception the day before to check that paperwork has been raised. With the new limitations on numbers of visits, the visitor is going to need to phone the ward earlier to make sure the visit is in the diary, otherwise the slot may be taken by a different visitor. Not a good situation if time has been booked off work, tickets booked etc.

To be honest, using a manual paper-based solution for booking visits seems archaic in this day and age. I would have thought it possible to come up with a computerised approach without having to develop a bespoke system. I would be surprised if a suitable solution couldn't be devised using shared Outlook calendars. It may mean that each ward has a visit calendar where they enter the details of the visit. For those carers that have signed the appropriate documentation, they could be included as invitees to the meeting and will receive email confirmation of the visit. Staff in reception would be able to see all the visits for the day and wouldn't need to print them as they already use computers to check visitors in. Access from reception could be limited to read-only on the visit calendar and wouldn't allow them to see any other information regarding patients or visitors. This information is already shared in the paper-based solution.

I have worked in the financial services industry for over 30 years, where for obvious reasons data security is of paramount importance. We solved far more complex issues, from staff accessing systems remotely, through publishing fund information online to giving clients remote access to their own investment data.

If there is a will to do it, and the appropriate skills available, then I am sure a suitable solution could be put in place without a huge financial investment.

Regards

Response from Peter Wright, Executive Director, Forensic Services, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust 4 years ago
Peter Wright
Executive Director, Forensic Services,
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 22/10/2019 at 11:38
Published on Care Opinion at 11:38


Thanks. I agree - it not only seems archaic but leaves the visitor with responsibility. Yesterday evening I effortlessly booked theatre tickets on line and the contrast with your experience could not have been greater. Obviously a digital solution would not suit everyone but I like your idea of using Outlook Calendar. We'll have a look.

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