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We are here to get better, not to feel like this

Posted By Hoppyjoe

"We are here to get better, not to feel like this"

About: Womens Low Secure Locked (Northampton) / Sinclair

(as the patient),

Women's low secure in St Andrews Hospital in Northampton is really bad in my opinion. The staffing is bad and there is a lot of agency and bank on shift. New rules have made the ward so restrictive. We can't have a hot drinks trolley anymore, patients can't go in each others rooms, staff are rude and don't listen or don't do anything when we make a complaint. Some patients shouldn't be here, they should be on a ward that gives them more support. This is a low secure but it's starting to feel like a low secure.

Some of us are here because we are depressed yet this ward is putting so many things in place that is making us depressed so we cant win. I think most restrictions should be individualised and not a blanket rule. I think we should have more regular staff so we can get used to staff and talk to them instead of having random agency people come in and out. The food is okay but it isn't healthy and there is not many options for vegetarians, vegans or gluten free diets. I think if this ward was really inspected properly this place might be shut down or improved. We are here to get therapy and get better, not to feel like I am stuck in a prison and never getting out.

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Responses

Response from Victoria Austin, PALS - Patient Adviser, St Andrew's Healthcare 4 years ago
Victoria Austin
PALS - Patient Adviser,
St Andrew's Healthcare

Submitted on 25/07/2019 at 13:00
Published on Care Opinion at 16:48

Firstly I apologise for the delay in responding to your story.

Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback, we really appreciate you sharing your experience.

We will ensure that your comments are passed on to the relevant staff to look into this for you and provide you with a response.

It is our aim to provide the best care for every patient every day and your feedback will ensure that we continuously improve our services to achieve this aim.

The Patient Engagement Team

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Response from Victoria Austin, PALS - Patient Adviser, St Andrew's Healthcare 4 years ago
We are preparing to make a change
Victoria Austin
PALS - Patient Adviser,
St Andrew's Healthcare

Submitted on 25/07/2019 at 16:11
Published on Care Opinion at 16:48

Hello Hoppyjoe, I have been asked to send you the below response from The Ward Management Team.

Hi Hoppyjoe, thank you for taking the time to share your experiences and I’m sorry to read that this is how you felt during your stay with us.

Yes unfortunately occasionally we do have to use non regular staff on the ward and the majority of the time this is to cover for holiday, training or sickness. There were times where the hot drinks trolley had to be removed and this was due to inappropriate use and safety concerns, however this was reviewed regularly and has been back for some time now.

Patients accessing each other’s room is not permitted due to staff not being present and the safety concerns associated with this, although patients are supported to access other areas together to do activities or watch DVDs etc. Unfortunately as with all secure units there must be some restrictions in place which are generally individualised and have to be in place to maintain safety. We are always trying to find ways to be as least restrictive as possible and to improve how we support and treat patients in our care. I’m concerned that you haven’t felt listened to following raising complaints about the situation because this is something that we feel is very important. As you may know we have regular opportunities for patients to raise concerns to staff whether this is during 1:1 meetings or as part of a community meeting. I will review this with the current patient group to check out how they feel regarding raising their concerns. Once again, thank you for sharing your experiences. Your opinion does matter to us and we hope that we can reassure you and make changes that would enhance the experience of other people in our care.

Ward Management Team

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