Acting Chief Executive Paul Bannister.JPEG
The Health and Social Care Secretary Yvette Cooper said she was ‘really impressed’ by the care and compassion she saw at Watford General Hospital after spending time shadowing frontline teams during an evening shift.
Ms Cooper spent time in the maternity unit, emergency department, and a specialist frailty ward as she joined ward rounds and got a feel for what a typical shift would look like for nurses and consultants.
She said she heard the “same story time and again” from both patients and staff she spoke to about the care and compassion provided to each individual.
During her visit, she ‘met’ two premature baby twins being cared for in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), which provides specialist 24-hour care for premature, low-birth-weight, or critically ill newborn babies.
The tiny twins have been on the unit since they were born over four weeks ago and she heard both were doing well.
She spent time with midwife Antonio Sierra as he showed her what a late shift typically involved in caring for new mums or expectant mothers, along with the triaging process for supporting pregnant women who arrived on the ward with a variety of potential concerns.
Ms Cooper also heard about how Watford put mothers in the driving seat about how and where they want to give birth, creating a plan with each woman to reflect her preferences and ensuring the support is in place to do that safely.
In the Emergency Department, the Health Secretary shadowed Matron Elsa Locatelli as she checked in on patients and learnt how teams assessed and cared for people with a wide range of different conditions and injuries.
She also heard how data was now embedded into every aspect of how the teams work in the ED, and had been a key factor in significantly improving waiting times. West Herts is consistently in the Top 5 of NHS Trusts for A&E waiting times and has eliminated corridor care.
She ended her shift, at the Sarratt Ward, a 30-bed unit, which specialises in managing elderly patients with multiple complex or chronic conditions. Nurse Amber Fernandes-Todd took her on a round, to visit and check up on patients before they went to sleep.
“A huge thank you to everyone here at Watford General for welcoming me, and actually for everybody working across West Herts, it's been just really impressive,” she said after the visit.
“I've been to the Neonatal ward and seen two beautiful little twins being well cared for. I've been to the emergency department now here up at the elderly care ward, and it's just been really impressive to see how hard everybody has been working, but also the huge amount of care and the support and compassion provided for every patient.
“And listening, talking to many of the staff, talking to the patients, it's the same story time and time again: its people talking about that care and compassion. So, a huge thank you to everybody for the work that you're doing.”
Acting chief executive at West Herts, Paul Bannister, said: “We were delighted that the Health Secretary came to visit our wonderful teams and got a chance to experience the realities of a typical shift in three very different departments and learn more about what they do. We’d like to thank her for spending time with us and showing such interest and passion for the work we do.
“We’re very proud of the progress we’ve made over recent years and will continue to drive further improvements for our patients.”