Hospital staff praised by young people and parents in national survey

That is the finding of the latest Children and Young People’s Survey published by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) and the Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford scored 8 out of 10 or higher in almost 80% of questions in the survey. The results included scores of more than 9 out of 10 from both young people (aged 8-15) and the parents of children (aged 0-7) for the questions: were staff friendly and were you (or your child) well looked after in the hospital?

SaTH also scored ‘better’ than other trusts in two categories: “Did the hospital change your child’s admission date at all?” and “Was your child given enough privacy when receiving care and treatment?”. There were no areas where SaTH performed worse than other trusts.

Other highlights from the report include a score of 9.9 for children being treated on the most appropriate ward, a score of 9.6 from young people saying staff had answered their questions and scores of 9.7 for questions about whether staff explained what would happen before an operation or procedure and whether staff gave parents enough information about their child’s medication.

Jo Banks, Women and Children’s Care Group Director at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), which runs RSH and PRH, said: “We are delighted that the findings of the latest Children and Young People’s Survey show that our young patients, and their families, believe they are receiving the safe and kind service we want for everybody.

“This is down to the hard work and dedication of the staff both in the Women and Children’s care group and in the wider Trust.

“As well as highlighting the many areas where we are doing well, the survey does indicate some areas where we can improve and we will be looking into those more closely to ensure the experience for young people using our service is the best it can be for them and their loved ones.”