Staff attitude and skills: I visited Guy's Hospital Urgent Care Centre with my husband, who had a foot injury. It was one of the best NHS experiences we've had. The reception team were clear, helpful and quickly registered my husband.Ben, the ENP who examined my husband's foot, was brilliant. He was positive, had high energy, was kind and considerate, and listened to what the problem was.After referring my husband for an x-ray and reviewing the results, Ben explained what the situation was. We left with a plan of what to expect next and clear instructions of what to do if anything changed.
Staff attitude
Staff skills
Waiting times:
In UCC: we had expected to wait quite a while (and brought books, as we were happy to wait), but were seen very quickly: within 20 minutes. We were amazed.
X-ray: the referral letter was on the x-ray team's desk by the time we got to the second floor. We were seen within five minutes.
Back in UCC: only a short wait for a follow up with Ben after x-ray results were reviewed.
Waiting time
Reception experience:
This was only challenging aspect of our visit. As the waiting area was full, there were quite a few people packed into a relatively small space. My husband is claustrophobic and doesn't find these types of environments comfortable at the best of times. During our visit, a small number of patients and family members becoming increasing anxious, agitated and vocal to staff and fellow patients. The manager appeared to reprioritise the wait list and they were immediately seen.It made me curious about how the waiting experience could be improved to give patients and families a different experience? All patients will be ill and/or in pain - they wouldn't be in the UCC otherwise. And family members are likely to be worried and will advocate for their family member.
How could the waiting experience reduce anxiety rather than add to it?
Acknowledging space constraints, how might a different physical configuration be explored? What might help give people more visibility and reassurance of what will happen next?At the end of our visit, I shared positive verbal feedback with the reception team about our experience and apologised that they experienced the outbursts from other patients. My impression is that they didn't seem overly phased about the other patients' behaviours, which made me wonder if this happened on a regular basis? For a team which provides such excellent care, my hope is that they can have respectful interactions with all patients/families too - so their experience of work can be a positive one.Reception
