Between Christmas and New Year, the CQC carried out an unannounced inspection in the Trust’s Emergency Department. We are really pleased at the outcome of this visit and the fantastic report we received from the CQC, which is testament to staff in the Emergency Department. The inspection visit was to check how the Emergency Department was functioning at a traditionally busy time of year.
People who were waiting for treatment said that they liked the "navigation system", whereby people were seen by a triage nurse soon after arriving in the department. Patients that the CQC representative spoke with said they had been seen immediately after arriving. The nurse had obtained their contact details and basic symptoms in a private triage area before they booked in at the reception desk.
Two people said they had previously visited the Emergency Department for treatment on other occasions, and had found the staff to be helpful, and had not had to wait for too long.
Staff told the CQC representative that although the department had been busy over the Christmas period, there had been sufficient numbers of staff. They had not had any
difficulty in obtaining support and advice from on-call medical staff.
The CQC report concluded that; “the hospital had established systems in place to provide a smooth care pathway for people attending the Emergency Department. Overall, we found that Medway NHS Foundation Trust was meeting this essential standard.”
