The Royal Liverpool Hospital Listening Event July 2018

Summary

On 24 July 2018 we visited The Royal Liverpool Hospital and spoke to patients and their families about the care that they receive there.

We are aware that the NHS is under pressure and that staff at the Royal Liverpool Hospital are already working hard to make patient’s experiences the best they can be.

Our survey has shown generally high levels of satisfaction amongst the patients that we spoke to, however there are some areas where patients have expressed concerns.

1. Our survey shows that patients really appreciate the care and dedication of staff who work in sometimes difficult circumstances. We ask that the Royal continues to do all they can to support staff wellbeing.
2. There were concerns expressed by some patients about staff appearing to be rushed, overworked and not having enough time to spend with patients. We know that staff recruitment and retention is an issue across the NHS. We know that the Royal already has schemes in place to improve recruitment and retention of staff. We would encourage the Royal to continue their focus on this issue and liaise with other similar Trusts to share best practice.
3. A minority of patients we spoke to did not feel they had been given enough information about their treatment and some expressed concerns about communication, both between professionals and from professional to patient. We would encourage the hospital to look at this issue further to see what can be done.
4. A number of patients expressed concerns about the environment. Although some patients commented positively on cleanliness, some did feel that maintenance was an issue. We are aware that the Royal has been forced to stay within the old buildings for much longer than anticipated due to delays in construction of the new hospital building following the collapse of Carillion. We would encourage the Royal to continue to take a proactive approach to maintenance of the old buildings to ensure that patient experience is not negatively affected.
5. We ask that the Royal continues to show how patient feedback has been used to help make decisions about planning and improving services.