Conquest Hospital

Dear Arwen,

Thank you for taking the time to post such lovely feedback about the care you received in the Emergency Department (ED) at Conquest Hospital; we very much hope you have recovered from the symptoms you presented with, and are well.

The Trust works hard to provide a high standard of care to patients, sometimes in complex and challenging situations in our ED's where treatment may be required in matters of life and death from accidents and emergencies, so we are delighted to read this was your experience.

It is also assuring for us to learn you were kept well-informed about your care; communication is vital when patients may be worried or upset about their health, and any updates where possible clearly help patients.

We will share your kind words with the leadership team for the ED's, and send you our very best wishes Arwen.

Dear Patient,

Thank you for taking the time to leave us some comments about your recent experience of the Emergency Department (ED) at Conquest Hospital; the Trust works very hard in sometimes complex and challenging situations, particularly at this time of the year, to provide a high standard of care, and so we are disappointed that this was not your experience. Please accept our apologies for the obvious frustration and distress caused to you as this is not how we would wish any patient to feel.

As you will appreciate, our ED's have high and unpredictable levels of patient attendance for an ever-increasing range of illnesses and injuries, and this places additional pressure on our resources. Furthermore, patients sitting in the ED waiting area will not be aware of the clinical activity taking place behind the scenes with additional admissions from ambulances and our inpatient wards in emergency situations of life and death. Our ED triage system helps staff to prioritise care based on the symptoms a patient presents with, but when high volumes of patients are attending this needs to be constantly reassessed and delays in care will inevitably occur. This is not a situation that is exclusive to our Trust, as it is a picture reflected up and down the country with more and more patients coming to rely on ED's as a first line of care.

We are sorry that you were not happy having to sit on uncomfortable chairs and in close proximity to other patients however, ED's, when originally designed and built to handle accidents and emergencies, they were not intended to accommodate the number of patients who now present to them, and this in turn increases the wait to be seen. Given the nature of ED's, our seating needs to be easy to clean and maintain from a health, safety and infection control perspective, and to reflect the wide range of reasons why a patient is waiting to be seen (not all patients presenting to ED will benefit from softer chairs).

If you would like to discuss any particular aspects of your care and treatment, please do not hesitate to contact our Patient Experience Team on 0300 131 4784 or by email to esh-tr.patientexperience@nhs.net

Despite your experience, we very much hope you have recovered from the symptoms you presented with and are feeling better now. Take care and keep well.

Dear Parent/Carer,

Thank you for taking the time to leave us some feedback about your recent experience of the Emergency Department (ED) at Conquest Hospital; the Trust works very hard in often complex, difficult and challenging times to provide a high standard of care to patients, and we are therefore very sorry to read this was not the experience you had when attending with a three year old child who is autistic. Please accept our apologies for the obvious frustration, disappointment and upset caused to you as this was not our intention; we also hope the child has now made full recovery from the symptoms they presented to the ED with.

You will appreciate that ED's can be exceptionally busy clinical areas, with unpredictable volumes of patient attendances in addition to those patients being admitted behind the scenes in life and death situations via ambulance or from our inpatient wards, and our triage system helps us to determine the priority in which patients are seen. This, sadly, is not something limited solely to our ED's, but to those up and down the country where patient attendances to ED's are on the rise due to other pressures on the healthcare system which can have far-reaching effects on patient flow. Nevertheless, you have shared comments about your personal experience which we are sorry to read of, and offer apologies for. The feedback you have kindly posted raises a number of points that need to be considered, and therefore this will be shared with the senior leadership team responsible for the ED's.

You may also wish to speak to our Patient Experience Team about your personal experience; they can be reached on 0300 131 4784 or by email to esh-tr.patientexperience@nhs.net and may be able to speak to staff to better understand what was happening in the ED at the time of your attendance.

Finally, thank you for the kind words shared regarding the professionalism of staff once you had been seen; this is very much appreciated.

Thank for leaving a positive review regarding your attendance to our Fracture Clinic, which will be shared with the team involved.

We were sorry to learn of your poor experience when you attended our Emergency Department at Conquest Hospital with a broken wrist. It is most regrettable that you endured a long waiting time to be seen by a member of the Medical Team, as this is not what we would wish, but is unfortunately unavoidable on occasion due to the volume of patients attending for a wide range of illness/injuries.

It is also disappointing that when you were feeling unwell in the waiting room, staff were not sympathetic to your situation, for which we apologise.

Your feedback has been shared with the senior staff in the Emergency Department however, should you wish to discuss this matter further with a member of the Patient Experience Team, then please contact 0300 131 5309 or via email on esh-tr.PatientExperience@nhs.net

Finally, thank you for your kind comments regarding the care your received from our Fracture Clinic.

We were pleased to learn that after a long wait you have now had the hip replacement that you needed. We were reassured that you felt confident in the care you received and that all the staff you encountered were attentive to your needs.

Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback and please be assured that we will share this with the team involved. We do hope you are making progress following your recent operation.

Thank you for taking the time to provide us with such lovely feedback following your attendance to our Emergency Department at Conquest Hospital. We are pleased to learn that you were seen in a timely manner and your condition was diagnosed promptly, as we realise this will have been concerning. We hope that your upcoming appointment / surgery goes well and will ensure that your comments are relayed to the team in the Emergency Department.

We were saddened to learn of your experience, as all patients should feel well cared for during their appointments, confident in the care they are receiving and that staff are responsive to their needs and we apologise that this was not your experience. This has been shared with the Divisional Director of Operations for Women, Childrens and Sexual Health, who acknowledges that the layout/area is not ideal and wishes to assure you that we are working on an alternative plan with our Estates Team. It is equally disappointing that your experience was compounded by the manner of the doctor, which has been shared with the Speciality Lead for Obstetrics and Gynaecology, as we would expect staff to show respect and compassion in line with our core values and we also place great emphasis on the need for good communication. We apologise that this not reflected during your attendance. Should you wish to discuss this matter further, please contact our Patient Experience Team, on 0300 131 5309 or email esh-tr.PatientExperience@nhs.net, who will assist you with this.

Thank you for sharing your positive experience regarding the birth of your baby. We are pleased to hear that staff were attentive, caring, informative and supportive to you and wish to congratulate you on your new arrival. Your lovely comments will be shared with the Maternity Team.