Our Engagement: Chorley and South Ribble Hospital

On Tuesday, 15th April, Healthwatch Lancashire attended an engagement event at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital. Our representatives, Emmy and Steve, spoke with patients about their healthcare experiences at the hospital, including issues around accessing services.

Throughout the visit, staff members at the hospital were welcoming and came over to discuss Healthwatch and how they could work with us.

Overall, we found that patients were happy with their experiences of care at the hospital. As our feedback responses at the end of this report show, many spoke about the support they feel they get from the staff within the hospital.

Some patients said they were confused by their hospital letters. The letters named a specific consultant they were due to see, but
did not mention which department the appointment was in. The only instructions were to go to the main entrance and check in. On the day of the visit, volunteers and Healthwatch Lancashire staff were helping patients around the hospital and showing them where they needed to go for their appointments.

At the time of the visit there was only one volunteer on the main desk helping patients find their way to appointments. On a few occasions a large queue formed, as patients needed support with finding the right department, struggling with disability parking badges, understanding the purpose of the appointment, and directions to the main entrance.

One patient had problems with hospital transport, as the taxi had brought them to the wrong hospital. A member of staff from PALS was very quick to help, and got the patient the right support they needed to get them across to Preston Hospital quickly.

The list below features some of the feedback Emmy and Steve received from patients during the visit. For this report, only comments regarding the hospital are included:

• I have come today to see a consultant about my feet, I think it’s for my diabetes, but I’m not sure. I’ve been sent a letter from the hospital, which just states to come to the main entrance for my appointment, but no department on the letter. It’s confusing and hard to understand where I need to go.
• I have been here for an X-ray today. They called me this morning saying, Could I come on Thursday for an appointment? I told them that I was going on holiday and they said, ‘Can you come now?’I couldn’t believe it, so I’ve come down and been in and out. I can’t fault them at all.
• I have been here for multiple appointments, and they are just incredible. I’ve had a lot of different scans over the last few months, and the staff are always lovely. I have also received support from the cancer care team and Macmillan in the hospital, and they are great, they ring me to check I am alright,t which I really appreciate.
• I have come for my appointment today and have been told to come to the main entrance. I have the name of the person I am seeing, but I don’t know where they are based or what the appointment is for.
• I am struggling with the hospital parking; I have a disability badge, and I am registered at Preston hospital,l but I don’t know if I’m registered here or if I need to do it here as well.
• I have been to see the physio today, and they were really good. I was dreading the appointment, but it was actually really helpful and informative.
• I have come for an appointment at the eye centre this morning, which has led me nowhere. They told me to go back to my regular optician to get a referral back to the eye centre so they can look into surgical options for me. This just seems pointless. Why can’t I just get a referral from them?
• Parking is really horrific. I have to come regularly for appointments. My mum gets subsidised parking as a member of staff but not as a patient, which seems unfair. The machines aren’t clear or easy to use at all. I have to call in to Chorley first thing and then come back for an appointment later on, can I not just pay one fee, and that would cover me the whole day? I think it’s daft having to pay twice.
• What would help patients is if they had a call display system in the waiting areas. The staff just come out and shout at people, which is confusing, especially if you cannot hear them.
• The map in the main entrance is a great idea and helpful, but I came today and have been told to go to the fracture clinic, but no sign for the
  fracture clinic. There are a lot of main department names, but not what is in the department. When there are no volunteers on reception, it can be quite hard to navigate your way around the hospital.
• We would like to thank the staff and volunteers that helped us on the day of the visit and for their continued support in Healthwatch. We are keen to continue working together moving forward and look forward to establishing the views of the community.