Shoreham's Southlands Hospital praised by inspectors (From The Argus)

Shoreham's Southlands Hospital praised by inspectors

2:30pm Thursday 9th June 2011 in News By Siobhan Ryan, Health Reporter

Elderly patients at a Sussex hospital are being treated with dignity and respect, according to inspectors.

The Care Quality Commission made an unannounced visit to Southlands Hospital in Shoreham and found it was meeting two essential standards of care.

These were privacy and dignity and whether patients were getting food and drink that met their needs.

The visit, which happened in May, is part of a national inspection programme being carried out by the commission.

Inspectors observed how people were being cared for, talked with many people who use services, spoke to nursing and other staff, checked the provider’s records, and looked at records of people who use services.

Their report said: “We spoke to many patients and some relatives and all told us they had no reason to complain about anything.

“Many of the people we spoke to told us that they trusted the doctors and nurses to make the right decisions about their care and treatment.

“When we spoke to family members, we were told that they had been involved in making decisions about the care of their relative from the time they were admitted to the accident and emergency department and that everything had been explained properly to them.

“People we spoke to told us the food was good, it was served hot, that they had plenty of choice and large enough portions.

“Most people said they were happy with how food was served and the amount of help they were offered.”

Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, has just finished a public consultation on plans to transfer its two elderly care wards from Southlands to Worthing Hospital.