Wirral Women and Children’s Hospital rated better or much better than average in several key areas, according to the recently published Care Quality Commission (CQC) 2020 Children and Young People’s Experience Survey.
The CQC survey included 125 acute and specialist NHS Trusts across England and the information was collected from patients discharged between 1 November 2020 and 31 January 2021. Comparisons were made with the previous 2018 survey.
The survey reported that the hospital was better than average in communicating with and providing information to the young patients, their parents and carers. Other areas where the hospital was rated better include cleanliness on wards, overnight facilities for parents and carers and staff being there when needed.
In all other areas, Wirral Women and Children’s was banded ‘about the same’ compared to other trusts. In two areas however the Trust’s performance, whilst still ‘about the same’ as others, showed a decline. Parents’ scores were lower than in 2018 when asked if they were they able to prepare food in the hospital if they wanted to and were there enough things for their child to do in hospital. The COVID-19 pandemic means that currently there are restrictions within the trust for patients, staff and visitors. When these can be safely removed there will be a return to more normal activities.
Dr Nikki Stevenson, Medical Director and Deputy Chief Executive at Wirral University Teaching Hospital, said, “I was pleased to see that the hard work of our dedicated staff, during the continuing challenging time, has been recognised by the patients, their parents and carers. It is pleasing to note that there have been some improvements, but we are committed to continuous improvement in all aspects of patient care. We will be looking in detail at the findings to identify those areas where we can make further progress.
“The COVID–19 pandemic has resulted in necessary changes to our processes, but our staff have adapted and met the challenges in providing care for their patients. We have continued to restrict access to our hospitals, especially for visitors, in order to reduce the risk of infection. This decision is reviewed regularly.
“We are grateful to everyone for their understanding and for helping us to maintain the safety of our patients, staff and their families.”
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