What patients told us about care on the Care of the Elderly wards at Whipps Cross
We visited after hearing concerns through our community outreach, our information and signposting service, and the Whipps Cross Patient Panel, particularly around medication, communication, and hospital discharge. To prepare, we reviewed six months of anonymised patient feedback (PALS) data and met the hospital's Complex Discharge Team. During the visits, 28 people spoke with our Authorised Representatives and we completed 23 questionnaires.
Much of what we heard was positive. Patients repeatedly described staff as kind and caring, and cleanliness was rated highly, with over half of patients scoring their ward 5 out of 5. But the visits also identified real areas for improvement, including support with hydration, access to call bells, communication with families, personal care, and discharge planning. On discharge in particular, only 45% of patients had been told when they were likely to go home, and just 27% knew about any new medication they would need to take afterwards.
Two serious concerns were escalated to the hospital immediately: a patient being handled roughly during personal care, and a call bell being silenced without the patient being helped. We want to recognise that the Whipps Cross Patient Experience Team responded promptly and openly; starting safeguarding processes, holding staff debriefs and reflective practice, carrying out comfort rounding, reinforcing hydration reviews, and launching a "Pyjama Paralysis" pilot to help patients stay active and dressed during their stay.
Our recommendations build on that response. They include a mandatory response time for call bells across all Care of the Elderly wards, a hydration champion on each ward, carers' information packs, a clearer way for families to speak with doctors about care and discharge, and telling every patient their discharge plan when they are admitted.
As the independent voice for local patients, our role is to listen carefully and feed back honestly, and to work with services to make care better. We're grateful to everyone who shared their experience with us, and to the staff who made us welcome.
If you or someone you care for has been treated on these wards, we'd like to hear about it. You can read the full report and share your experience on our website.
This is the ward-based half of our wider Care of the Elderly project — you can also read our companion report on older residents' experiences of hospital care, discharge and getting home.
