"A lack of consistency of care"

During a fairly lengthy stay in Ward 22 it became clear that there is a real lack of consistency of care in this ward. While some staff were very caring and professional in attitude ( and whose dedication is appreciated) , others acted like they wished they were elsewhere while on shift, being dismissive of patients’ needs and brusque to the point of rudeness in response to patient requests for assistance and/or attention. Concerns raised with Ward management were verbally acknowledged but, in the main, remained unresolved.

Key  information related to patient care was regularly not shared between staff resulting in repeated misunderstanding of patients’ level of need for support related to levels of mobility. A few staff took the time to get to know patients as individuals but some rarely interacted with staff and visitors. Frequently, visitors were observed to go seek help for patients when no staff were in sight. At times the ward appeared to be severely understaffed and routine tasks not fulfilled for lengthy periods of time causing distress for patients. 

While understanding the pressures on the NHS over the past year, observations of performance in this ward affected our previous faith in the NHS.