Warwick Hospital puts care and dignity of patients first

DAVID Cameron’s drive to prioritise care and dignity in patient care in the English NHS is a vision shared by the trust that runs Warwick Hospital, its leaders say.

Action has already been taken by South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust in response to the Prime Minister’s announcement last week of a package of measures to tackle what he said was a “real problem” across the country.

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This includes reducing the amount of paperwork for nursing teams at the Lakin Road hospital and making sure nurses make regular rounds around wards to check patients to prevent the risk of falls and make sure they have enough to eat and drink.

The trust’s executive directors have also begun making regular visits to wards to give patients the chance to speak about any arising issues and an already existing patient forum - made up of volunteers - is inspecting wards to report back on services and hygiene standards.

The trust’s chief executive Glen Burley said: “I am pleased to say that the trust is already making progress with a number of the areas highlighted by the Prime Minister, but we are not complacent and we continue to listen to our members and patient groups to make further improvements to patient care.”

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Director of nursing Helen Walton said: “We are committed to further improving our patients’ experience and together with my team of matrons we are continuing with a number of initiatives to deliver this agenda. I support the areas highlighted by the Prime Minister and will be encouraging all of our nurses to take part.”

Another measure taken by the trust is to introduce a ‘friends and family test’, asking patients, carers and staff whether they would recommend the hospital to their friends and family.

In last year’s Dr Foster guide, compiled using comments posted on the NHS Choices website, Warwick Hospital was named as the fourth most recommended hospital in the country by patients.

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The Coalition Government is introducing a new ‘Time to Care’ plan to all NHS hospitals by 2013, to ensure that staff have enough time to improve patient care.

People across south Warwickshire are being offered the chance to get involved with the new South Warwickshire Clinical Commissioning Group - a ‘consortium’ of GPs who will from April 2013 be responsible for buying and managing health services in the area.

The group wants to hear the advice, views and opinions of its patients.

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Anyone interested can arrange to meet Ashley Brooks, from the National Patient Champion Network, by emailing [email protected] or [email protected]

Also see the NHS Warwickshire website: www.warwickshire.nhs.uk

People can also become a member of South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust, which will give them opportunities to consult on trust decisions. www.swft.nhs.uk/foundation-trust