"A weeks stay in a Whipps Cross ward"

I recently spent a week at Whipps Cross Hospital, part of the Barts group.

My experience was generally very good, with mostly caring and efficient staff running the ward. It is obvious that ward staff are at times very hard pressed.

They are busy all the time, and at certain times are having to juggle priorities and to multi task to get through. There were particular nursing staff who were going the extra mile, providing outstanding service. A few of the catering staff were going through the motions though, not really engaging with patients.

I offer here some thoughts about small things which would have made my experience a little better.

This is not a complaint, but a list of experiences that might inform ideas for improvement.

- On first arrival it would have been useful to have some sort of induction sheet.

Something to give an idea where things were, what the timetable of the day was, when meals were, how the bed worked, if there was WiFi, who you could ask to do what, etc., these would all have been useful to know, without having to bother staff.

- I did not get to know that there was a Serco menu until I had been there several days.

In the end, I accidentally saw it on the nurses desk as I passed.

Before this, I had to ask multiple questions to try to narrow down what was available.

For example, in the menu I found out you could get prunes for breakfast, and could get a jacket potato for lunch.

I only found out this in the last two days I was there. I also learned that one could ask for hot drinks throughout the day. The catering staff seemed to be more interested in ticking off that you had chosen something, rather than ensuring that you had choosen something that you felt like eating.

- When meeting new staff (nursing and catering), name and role introductions and task explanations (e.g. why you are getting a different sort of drip, etc.) were not universally given. Doctors all introduced themselves and their reason for the visit, and although obviously pressed for time, would always answer questions and clarify things.

- Although name badges were worn, they differed, as did uniform styles.

As a lay person, I found it difficult, particularly at the start of the stay, to identify roles and responsibilities of staff, or who was in charge of the ward.

I was not sure who I should be asking to do what. I felt I was asking hard pressed staff, doing important tasks, to do what I felt were menial things like filling water jugs, bringing a cup of tea, or bringing a new urine bottle.

- In the toilets, there are colour coded bins, although no indication of what the colours meant.

I was not sure where I should put what.

I think others felt the same because both bins seemed to be filled with the same kind if stuff.

So, thank you Whipps Cross (Barts) Hospital for your care.

There is some first class work going on in the face of stretched resources, as well as challenging language, expectation and understanding issues.