- Community healthcare service
White Cross Court Rehabilitation Hospital
All Inspections
5 January 2012
During an inspection looking at part of the service
7 July 2011
During a routine inspection
Overall patients made positive comments about the service they received and said they were satisfied with the care and treatment provided. Comments included 'it has been very good for me coming here,' 'they always draw the curtains when providing care,' and my relative is 'a lot happier than she was and is going the right way now.' However, three patients mentioned, independently, that they thought the days were long and there was little to do. They told us they spent their time in their own rooms and would only socialise when they were having physiotherapy which started to reduce the better they became. The communal lounge, despite being large enough to be used for group activities, was said by staff to be 'out of bounds' and not used by patients.
Patients said they thought the unit was clean and regularly saw domestic staff busy cleaning. Patients said they saw staff washing their hands and used the 'medicated liquid' to clean their hands before and after helping them with personal care.
Patients did not raise any concerns about their medication. One patient told us that they regularly had tablets for pain relief and that as far as they were aware they got all the medication they had been prescribed for.
Patients said they were happy with the equipment available and staff had made sure they had all they needed to aid their recovery and move to independence.
Overall people made positive comments about the staff, describing them as 'kind and attentive,' and that they 'interacted well with patients.'
One patient told us there seemed to be enough staff around, although they did say the 'days seemed long' because 'there wasn't enough to do'. One patient said their mobility and confidence 'had got a lot better', so she could 'get about and take herself to the toilet. However, there was a delay previously if she needed assistance and staff were busy.' The patient recalled this was usually in the evening and during the night when staff numbers reduced. Another patient said 'they do manage but are very busy and could do with more.'
We asked patients about their medical records, if they knew about them, if they thought they were accurate and up to date. No one we spoke to said they had seen their records, but they assumed records were kept.
Patients told us they knew about the trust's complaints procedure and said they felt confident that they would speak to staff on the unit if they were not happy.