Families rate Sunderland children’s wards amongst best in the NHS
The latest Children and Young People's survey shared by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) shows how families in South Tyneside and Sunderland have rated care much higher than others across the NHS in a host of areas.
STSFT provides inpatient children’s services from three wards at Sunderland Royal Hospital, caring for children and young people up to the age of 16 from right across South Tyneside, Sunderland and beyond.
The Trust is highlighted as one of only eight nationally who are performing ‘Better than expected’ in the latest CQC survey results. The high praise from young patients and their families puts STSFT alongside some of the country’s major children’s centres such as Alder Hey and Great Ormond Street.
The national CQC survey asked parents and carers, as well as children and young people themselves, to rate their experience in hospital out of 10.
The children’s wards at Sunderland Royal Hospital received glowing reports from parents and carers who scored it highest of every other hospital in the region for:
- making sure children and young people had effective pain management (9 out of 10)
- explaining what would happen before and after an operation or procedure (9.3 out of 10)
They also rated their experience better than expected for:
- How their child was looked after in hospital (8.9 out of 10)
- Talking to hospital staff (9.2 out of 10)
Children and young people themselves also rated their experience on the wards at Sunderland Royal Hospital higher than any other in North East and North Cumbria with a score of 9 out of 10. This included positive feedback about being able to get to sleep, being around other children or young people of a similar age on age-appropriate wards. STSFT’s result in this area was much better than expected when compared nationally.
Melanie Johnson is Executive Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professionals. She said:
“To know that the care we offer our youngest patients has been noted as among the best in the country is wonderful news and is down to our exceptional staff.
“Spending time in hospital can not only be difficult and overwhelming for a child but can be a stressful time for families too. We are very proud to see the difference our teams make.
“Feedback is vital to help us improve things further, so we’ll be looking at the finer detail to look at where we’re doing well, and where we could do better in the future.
“As well as learning from surveys like these, we also have a very active Young Person’s Group at the Trust and their feedback is so important to us. They are really good at telling us about what they do like and what changes they would like to see.”
To find out more about STSFT’s Young Person’s Group or get involved visit
