Patients praise Guy's and St Thomas' staff in CQC inspection reports

Health watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) highlights praise from patients in two reports published this week following inspections of services at both Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospitals in February.

The CQC found Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust to be meeting all the essential standards of quality and safety inspected on both hospital sites.

At Guy’s, one patient said “Every member of staff involved in my care from the senior doctor to the person cleaning the ward are committed and friendly” while another patient said “I’ve been to a lot of hospitals and this is the best ward I’ve been on”.

Standards of cleanliness and infection control at Guy’s were praised by a patient who said “The ward is kept clean and staff always wash their hands before seeing me”.

At St Thomas’ a patient told the CQC inspectors “Staff always talk to me and explain things as they go” and another patient said “The staff are always there to help me”.

The CQC did report concerns about staffing levels on a ward at Guy’s which they raised with Trust management who took action to resolve these concerns.

Eileen Sills, Chief Nurse, said: “I am delighted with the reports published by the CQC following their inspection visits in February, especially the extremely positive praise from patients.

“I am particularly pleased with patients’ feedback regarding care, treatment and communication during their hospital stay. The majority of people felt that staff took time to discuss and explain their diagnosis and treatment, involved them in decisions and offered them choices about their care.

“Our staff work very hard and it is always uplifting to hear that the care we are providing is meeting patients’ needs and expectations.

“However, we are not complacent and we will continue to listen to our patients so that we can learn from their experiences and further improve our care.”

The full reports are available on the CQC website www.cqc.org.uk.