Patients said their care and treatment was good, and that they felt safe. Nursing staff were friendly and supportive. Most patients acknowledged benefiting from one-to-one sessions with nurses.
Two carers expressed confidence in the ward, they had free access to the ward and nurses were helpful and open. Both carers said they felt included in the decisions on the treatment of their family member.
A service user representative visits the ward once a week to help patients and families with their care and treatment.
Since the last visit eight actions were completed and have contributed to improving the quality of patient care on the wards. This included discussing medication with patients, having leaflets and posters promoting the advocacy service provided by Voiceablity and there is now a set time for a ward round each week and the consultant is available three mornings a week.
The CQC also found that care plans addressed the mental and physical health needs of patients, addressed patients’ risks and included psychological and occupational therapy assessments. Staff interventions to meet patients’ needs were recorded.
However, they found that patients were not fully involved in care plans and their views were poorly recorded.
As a Trust, we pride ourselves in being responsive to suggestions for improvements, wherever they come from, and we do this as quickly as possible.
In response to the issue identified with care plans, we immediately reminded all staff of the need to involve patients in the care plan and to document this. We now have fortnightly audits of care plans and the ward asks for patient views on involvement in their care planning, through its Service User Representative. The feedback is routinely analysed and appropriate actions taken by the ward management team and Service User Representative as part of ongoing quality improvement initiatives.
We continue to be proud of the high quality care provided by The Redwoods and will keep building on its excellent reputation.