Archived: Mile End Hospital

Patients also praised the staff and said that they explained and answered their questions and treated them with respect. Patients felt their privacy was protected. People generally liked the ward environment and told us the hospital was clean.

However patients on one of the wards also consistently said that the staff seemed very busy and did not always respond quickly, for example when they used the call bells. This impression was confirmed by staff on the ward. The trust was aware of the issue and had commissioned an independent review of the Care of Older People service.

We observed lunch on one ward and saw that people enjoyed their meals. Staff generally engaged with people positively over lunch and tried to make it a social occasion. We saw a staff member gently assisting one person and engaging them in conversation. However not all staff interactions were so positive and staff occasionally seemed more focused on the task of serving lunch rather than enabling people to enjoy the meal at their own pace. One relative came in to assist his family member with eating because he did not believe the staff had enough time to do this.

Overall, people commented positively on their experience of care. Comments included:

"The therapists are amazing. We feel it is one of the best [stroke] teams in the country."

"Some staff are angels and some do a job. But I really can't complain."

"It's the best hospital I've experienced."