Eastbourne District General Hospital

Reply from East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust
Wed, 25 Sep 2019 15:05:59 +0100

Dear Ailsa, Thank you for taking the time to leave us such lovely feedback following your recent attendance to the Emergency Department at Eastbourne District General Hospital; we really appreciate it. First and foremost, we very much hope that your injuries have continued to heal nicely and that you are back to your usual self. It must have really shaken you to have such a nasty fall, and hope it hasn’t put you off coming back to visit Eastbourne in the future! The Trust works hard to provide a high standard of care for all patients, and so we are delighted to read this was your recent experience, particularly given how busy the Emergency Department can be. It is also very reassuring for us to learn you were treated with kindness and compassion and that staff took the time to explain the care and treatment they would provide to you, as this no doubt gave you confidence in what they were doing and assured you they had your health and well-being at the heart of their invention. It was also very helpful to read your husband was reassured by the care you received. And the later than planned, but nevertheless welcome, lunch must have helped to end the day on a more positive note! We will ensure your kind comments are shared with the senior clinical and management team for the Emergency Department as they will want to read how much you appreciated the care you received. We wish you and your husband all the very best Ailsa for good health and well-being, both now and in the future.

Reply from East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust
Mon, 16 Sep 2019 16:02:26 +0100

Dear Diana, Thank you for taking the time to leave us such lovely feedback about your recent visit to the Emergency Department and Coronary Care Unit at Eastbourne District General Hospital; we do appreciate it. First and foremost, we very much hope you are well and have fully recovered from what must have been an exceptionally worrying time for you and your loved ones. The Trust works hard to provide a high standard of care to all patients, particularly those attending the Emergency Department in urgent or life-threatening situations, and so we are delighted to read that this was the experience you had. It is also very assuring for us to read that staff upheld our values in treatment of kindness, compassion, dignity and respect, and that you received the support you needed. This can often be a source of great comfort to patients in times when they may be worried, anxious or upset and away from home and loved ones. We will ensure your kind words are shared with the relevant senior clinical and management staff, as they will want to know how much you appreciated the care you received. We wish you good health Diana, now and in the future, and send you our very best wishes.

Reply from East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust
Fri, 13 Sep 2019 15:30:29 +0100

Thank you for taking the time to leave us some very detailed feedback about the recent episode of care your daughter had with the Gynaecology Team at Eastbourne District General Hospital; we very much appreciate the comments you have made. The Trust works hard to provide a high standard of care to all patients, regardless of age, and so it is of both concern and disappointment to read this was not the experience your daughter had, or for you as a worried and caring parent. Please accept our apologies for the obvious concern caused to you, together with our sincere apologies to your daughter as she must have felt incredibly uncomfortable and upset by the way she was treated by staff. It would also appear that the Trust values of treating patients with kindness, compassion, dignity and respect were absent at various points of your daughter’s care pathway, and we are sorry for this. We want patients, and their relatives, to have confidence in the care they are about to receive, and in the staff providing it, and we are disappointed by the experience you have both had. As this is a public forum, it would not be appropriate for us to respond in specific detail about your daughter’s care and treatment as we want to respect her right to privacy; however, it is evident that there is some learning for us to undertake from the experience of care you have described and if you feel able to, we would very much like to hear from you directly. We therefore warmly encourage you to contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) by email at esh-tr.palse@nhs.net or by calling the team on 01323 435886. As part of the aforementioned values, it is important that we respect our patients by ensuring we communicate effectively with them. Whilst clinic delays do occur as sometimes patients need additional time to speak about their symptoms, test results, care plans or future care, staff do need to regularly keep patients updated so they have an idea of when they will be seen. This value does not appear to have been upheld, and we apologise for this. Lastly, we are sorry that you felt you had to repeat your daughter’s medical history in clinic. Although the notes of any previous care would have been on file, it is often helpful to take a new history in case symptoms have changed (for better or worse), and re-examine various aspects of the patient’s health to assess for things such as current pain levels, or additional symptoms. If this was not explained to you, then we apologise for this oversight as we need to ensure patients understand why we are asking them to repeat their symptoms and medical history. We will ensure that the feedback you have kindly provided is shared with the senior clinical and management team for the Gynaecology Team, as they will want to determine from this how best to improve patient experience. We very much hope your daughter is well, and that any further testing or care required is in hand. If you need any assistance in progressing care and the Gynaecology Team are unable to help, then do contact PALS on the details provided earlier. Our best wishes go out to you, your daughter and your family for good health and well-being.