What’s it like being in a hospital waiting room?

Our findings

• In the majority of hospitals, we found that waiting times, particularly in accident and emergency departments, are too long.
• In some instances, patients reported that waiting areas were overcrowded and seating was
  uncomfortable; factors made worse by long waiting times.
• The experiences of people with a disability were less positive than for those without.
  For example, cramped waiting rooms in one hospital made access in a wheelchair difficult, and
  problems with parking in another meant that patients with mobility problems had to walk long
  distances.
• In a majority of these hospitals, patients had problems accessing refreshments, especially at
  busy times and in accident and emergency departments.
• Several patients said that there was a lack of consistent and accessible signage.
• We found that in all but one hospital, the systems for calling people for their appointments did
  not meet the needs of patients, particularly those with hearing and/or visual impairments.
• The British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter booking system is not working for some patients.
  Although some reported good experiences, the majority of patients who used interpretation
  services, across most of these hospitals, told us that interpretation services are difficult to
  arrange, unreliable and do not take into account appointment delays, meaning that interpreters sometimes leave part-way through an appointment.
• Some communication is good, but this is inconsistent across the hospitals, and it does not
  always taken into account patients’ needs or preferences.

Healthwatch Birmingham made recommendations to each Trust, based on the issues heard. Six months later we tracked the progress of these improvements by requesting an update from the Trust which evaluates the specific changes made to improve patient’s experiences.