Annual Report and Accounts 2012/13 - Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust

the emphasis is on resolving complaints
locally and this has been achieved in 456
(92%) of complaints, with the majority
of these resolved through the Trust’s first
response. 27 (5.5%) of complaints were
resolved through further local resolution,
either by writing again to the complainants,
or by meeting with them.
12 of our complainants (2.4%) were not
happy with our local responses and referred
their complaint to the Parliamentary
and Health Service Ombudsman for an
independent review. The Ombudsman
decided to investigate one complaint and
that is ongoing. Two complaints were
rejected by the Ombudsman as properly
resolved by the Trust. The Trust was asked to
undertake further work locally to resolve the
complaint in four cases, three of which have
now been completed and closed, and one
remains open. In five cases the papers have
been supplied to the Ombudsman and we
are awaiting their decision.
The Trust has continued to work with
complainants and use complaints as drivers
for improvements to the services we
provide. Once again this year changes and
improvements have been embedded in
clinical areas as a result of complaints.
A particular area of focus has been on
ensuring that test results are followed up
appropriately, and new systems have been
put in place in the Clinical Support Services
Division and in the Women’s and Children’s
Division following a complaint in each
Division that results had been overlooked.
In the Division of Surgery, the Urology
Department has been looking at catheter
care, and staff have been working very
closely with a patient who was keen to
be involved in formulating new ideas for
improving the experience and understanding
of patients who have a catheter for a period
of time.
On a simpler level a patient informed us
that after his eye clinic appointments his
eyes were sore and it was uncomfortable
to wait for transport in the Outpatient Hall
because the seats were in a draughty area.
The Matron responsible for the Outpatients
Department met with Facilities staff and the
seating area has been reconfigured; chairs
have been moved away from the draught
and a dedicated waiting area for those
waiting for transport has been arranged,
which is away from draughts. Signage is
being made to identify the area.
Improvements in patient and carer
information
Providing high quality and clear information
is central to the patient experience.
During 2012/13 the Patient Information
Review Group continued to work with staff
across the hospital to develop new patient
and carer information and to refresh existing
information.
Our Readers Panel, service users, and patient
involvement groups support Trust staff to
ensure that the information we produce
is clear, jargon free and user friendly. For
example, our Fighting Infection Together
(FIT) public involvement group worked with
the Trust Infection Control Team to develop
an ‘isolation leaflet’. The leaflet describes
why a patient may be cared for in isolation
and what relatives can expect. Input from
patients and public has been particularly
helpful in developing leaflets on sensitive
issues. For example, our Readers Panel
supported the production of a Post Mortem
leaflet which is given to relatives soon after
the death of a loved one. The panel ensured
that the leaflet presents the relevant legal
and technical information in a sensitive way.
The Trust is developing a poster that will
be used in A&E cubicles to illustrate the
typical pathways through the emergency
department explaining the points at which
there may be waiting periods. The poster
22 Directors’ report