West Middlesex University Hospital In-Patient Wards: Enter and View Report - May 2026
We carried out 6 visits to 10 in-patient wards in January and February 2026. We spoke to 88 patients and 10 staff members.
We are very thankful for the staff, patients, and their loved ones who shared their experiences with us. We appreciate West Middlesex University Hospital for being open to this project and supporting us throughout our work. We are also thankful to Healthwatch Hounslow and Healthwatch Richmond volunteers who participated in the Enter & View visits and helped give patients a voice.
This report has led to tangible improvements to patients and in-patient wards.
We said, they did
Our recommendations and West Middlesex University Hospital's response included:
- Improve response times when assisting patients, particularly those requiring support to use the bathroom.
- Ward teams have been reminded of the importance of prompt acknowledgement, particularly for patients requiring support with toileting or personal care. Further emphasis will be placed on routine checks throughout the day and night, to ensure call bells remain within reach at all times.
- Ensure patients with specific dietary requirements (e.g. soft food diets) consistently receive suitable meals.
- Learning from the visit has been shared with the ward team and reviewed via the Nutrition and Hydration Steering Group, with immediate actions identified to strengthen processes and reduce the risk of recurrence.
- Provide accessible, shower-appropriate chairs in all patient bathrooms.
- The Facilities team has explored the costs and practical considerations associated with installing fixed or fold-down shower seats in ward bathrooms. They are now working with ward teams to identify where this would be most appropriate, taking into account patient need, clinical use of the ward, layout of facilities and cost.
- Improve Wi-Fi connectivity and increase the range of entertainment available to patients.
- The Trust will seek to identify a ward where this issue appears most pronounced and explore small-scale, low-cost interventions that could have a meaningful impact on patient experience. Learning from this work will help inform any wider rollout.
- Improve night-time patient experience.
- AMU leads will review ward movements, including transfers after 8pm, to understand their impact on sleep and identify opportunities for reduction where possible. Earplugs and eye masks are stocked on wards, and work is underway to test a more proactive approach to offering these to patients earlier in their admission. Switching off bay lights before 10pm has been highlighted as “Big Four” safety message in the May 2026 Daily Safety Huddles.
Downloads
Download the Full Report Here
Download and read the report to see the rest of our recommendations and West Middlesex University Hospital's full response.
