While everyone at Kingston Hospital is proud that the quality of care is currently rated ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission, there is always more that we can be doing to ensure all our patients receive the best care possible. At the moment, we need your help to raise the monies needed for the following:
It has been well documented that post-pandemic there has been a sharp rise in the number of people needing mental health support. Due to a lack of alternatives, hospital emergency departments often provide the ‘first contact’ for people in mental health crisis. Kingston Hospital’s emergency department currently sees on average nearly 200 psychiatric attendances each month, with 47 being admitted to the department’s mental health assessment unit for further review.
There is an urgent need to upgrade the current adult mental health facilities in the hospital’s emergency department to provide a comfortable and reassuring space to include redecoration, improved lighting and, to provide a sense of being in contact with the outside world, ceiling light boxes, along with furniture and other finishes that meet the specific needs of this cohort of patients. In addition, the assessment unit is to also have a wet room installed, as well as a new reception desk to improve staff safety and welfare.
Photo kindly provided by: Mental Health Foundation / Natalie Persoglio.
Recognising that support currently is piecemeal, the paediatric service is committed to ensuring that every family that suffers the devastation of losing a child at the hospital can access appropriate support from a psychologist, as part of a tailored programme. This would be similar to the service that is now provided by the maternity department for women who have suffered a fetal loss, following a successful pilot funded by Kingston Hospital Charity.
Kingston Hospital is committed to building a new intensive care unit, transforming the quality of the environment for patients, their families and staff working in the unit.
The current critical care unit, built in the 1970s provides a challenging environment. Staffing models are inhibited due to the number of single rooms and restricted lines of site, whilst daylight is compromised for many of the existing beds and as a result the means of providing a 24-hour rhythm for patients during their stay, which is known to aid recovery, is not available. Space for adequate equipment to treat and assist in rehabilitation is also lacking, restricting the ability to provide patients with the opportunity to sit out and mobilise prior to transferring to an inpatient ward.
Once the new unit gets the go ahead, charitable support will be needed to help ensure the new facility is fully equipped when it opens, while providing an exceptional care environment for the patients who require critical care, for those family and friends who can spend long periods in the unit, and for the staff who are committed to deliver intensive therapy and rehabilitation in a compassionate and efficient manner.
