Children's hospital services in Shropshire fare well in national survey

The findings for The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), which runs the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) and the Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford, are revealed in the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) Children and Young People Survey 2014.

The survey asked children and young people, as well as their parents and carers, about their hospital care.

The survey results, which looked at inpatient and day cases, for SaTH showed that the experiences of children and young people were about the same as other Trusts in most areas, but were also better in some areas.

Children and young people said they had a good overall experience of care at the Trust, and parents and carers agreed, saying they felt their child had a good experience of care overall.

Emma Dodson, Paediatric Matron at SaTH, said: “These results show that children and young people feel they had a good experience overall while being cared for in our hospitals.

“Our patients are at the heart of everything we do and we’re pleased that children, young people and their parents and carers feel this way.

“It’s pleasing to see that their experiences are at least as good as other Trusts and in some cases better but we are not complacent. We will continue to do our best to provide the best possible care and experiences for our patients.”

Areas where the survey showed the Trust was performing better than other trusts included:

• Parents and carers of 0-7 years olds felt their child was safe on the hospital ward
• Parents and carers felt a member of staff agreed a plan with them for their child’s care
• Parents and carers said they had confidence and trust in the members of staff treating their child
• Parents and carers said staff asked if they had any questions about their child’s care
• Children and young people felt hospital staff did everything they could to help their pain
• Children and young people said someone from the hospital explained how their operation or procedure went, in a way they could understand. This was echoed by parents and carers
• Children and young people said hospital staff told them what to do or who to talk to if they were worried about anything when they got home
• Parents and carers said they were given advice on how to care for their child when they got home.

Inpatient services for children and young people were provided at both the RSH and PRH until the end of September 2014, when all inpatient facilities for children and young people moved into the Shropshire Women and Children’s Centre at PRH. Day cases for children and young people continue to be provided at both RSH and PRH.

The full CQC Children and Young People survey results for SaTH can be found at www.cqc.org.uk/provider/RXW/survey/14