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Care Opinion

Good staff but the system could improve

Posted By Titus

"Good staff but the system could improve"

About: St Michael's Hospital / General surgery

(as a relative),

We are delighted with the care my sister received at St Michael's in Hayle after her total hip replacement. All the staff were professional and patient, recognising my sister's additional needs (she is registered blind and deaf, with very little vision and hearing). 

They recognised her needs and our concerns, keeping us informed of developments. We are particularly grateful for the effort which was put in to ensure she went home with the the most appropriate care package in place.
From our perspective the decision by the RCHT to move hip replacements to Hayle is an excellent decision. Prior to the operation my sister had been waiting for over two years and in increasing pain. This delay was due to concerns over her heart. We are grateful those concerns were taken seriously and various tests put in place before giving the go ahead for the operation and we have nothing but praise for all the individuals who assessed her.
There were frequent long delays however between assessment and the next step, which only got picked up when we started chasing. So there does seem to be a significant failure in communication regarding an individual's progress through the system. Also we found we had to repeatedly review her case from scratch as there seemed no way of highlighting what had gone before; consequently some test were done more than once. From what we have seen some sort of 'progress chaser' could actually end up saving the Trust wasted time and money. Let us reiterate, all the NHS staff have been most helpful; it seems they are let dawn by the system (or lack of it!)
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Responses

Response from Michaela Johnson, QI Manager, Quality Improvement, Royal Cornwall Hopitals NHS Trust 5 years ago
Michaela Johnson
QI Manager, Quality Improvement,
Royal Cornwall Hopitals NHS Trust

Submitted on 21/02/2019 at 15:33
Published on Care Opinion at 16:04

picture of Michaela Johnson

Dear Titus

Thank you for taking the to time to share your sister's story regarding the care she received from St Michaels Hospital, following a total hip replacement. My name is Michaela and I am the Patient Experience Coordinator here at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust which includes St Michaels. Firstly, please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to you on here.

I am pleased that you and your family were delighted with the care your sister received and that all staff were professional and patient. That they went the extra mile and took into account your sister's additional needs, listened to your family's concerns and kept you informed of developments throughout and were able to ensure that she went home with the most appropriate package of care.

As a Trust we fully appreciate the frustration of many of our patients waiting for orthopaedic operations and the delays they were encountering, hence the decision being made for all appropriate elective procedures to be performed at St Michaels. I am pleased that like so many others your sister has benefitted from this and your family feel this made a significant difference to her.

I will ensure that your kind words and praise is shared with the team at St Michaels as I know they will be thrilled to hear the difference they made, not only to your sister's experience but to yours as well.

I note the concerns you have raised about the lack of communication regarding an individual's progress through the system, the frequent long delays between assessments and appointments, having to go back through your sister's medical history and almost starting the whole process again each time and some tests even being repeated. I will share your insightful feedback with our Orthopaedic Management Team so that they can investigate this further, to see what can be put in place to improve the process for any of our patients in the future.

Thank you again and I do hope that your sister is back home and recovering well from her hip replacement.

With best wishes

Michaela Brewer, Patient Experience Coordinator

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