Queen Victoria FT rated highly for supporting patients at discharge

The results of the 2012 national inpatient survey were published by the CQC earlier this month.

Queen Victoria Hospital was among those trusts identified by the CQC as performing “significantly better than average” for

• 49. Did you feel you were involved in decisions about your discharge from hospital?
• 50. Were you given enough notice about when you were going to be discharged?
• 51/52. On the day you left hospital, was your discharge delayed for any reason? (Scored if delay is due to waiting for medicines, waiting to see the doctor, or waiting for an ambulance at Q52)
• 53. How long was the delay [in discharge]?
• 54. Before you left hospital, were you given any written or printed information about what you should or should not do after leaving hospital?
• 55. Did a member of staff explain the purpose of the medicines you were to take at home in a way you could understand?
• 56. Did a member of staff tell you about medication side effects to watch for when you went home?
• 57. Were you told how to take your medication in a way you could understand?
• 58. Were you given clear written or printed information about your medicines?
• 59. Did a member of staff tell you about any danger signals you should watch for after you went home?
• 60. Did hospital staff take your family or home situation into account when planning your discharge?
• 61. Did the doctors or nurses give your family or someone close to you all the information they needed to help care for you?
• 62. Did hospital staff tell you who to contact if you were worried about your condition or treatment after you left hospital?
• 63. Did hospital staff discuss with you whether you would need any additional equipment in your home, or any adaptations made to your home, after leaving hospital?
• 64. Did hospital staff discuss with you whether you may need any further health or social care services after leaving hospital?
• 66. Were the letters written in a way that you could understand?

The trust failed to achieve a significantly above average score for question 65 – did you receive copies of letters sent between hospital doctors and your family doctor (GP)?