Patients are routinely sent home from NHS hospitals in England without being told about the side effects of medication or danger signals to watch out for after an operation, the Healthcare Commission said yesterday.
A survey of 80,000 patients found 40% left without the basic information to ensure their safety. Other findings included:
· lack of care at mealtimes, with 18% of the most infirm patients never getting the assistance they needed to be able to eat;
· huge variations in standards of cleanliness on wards, with 89% of patients in one hospital entirely satisfied compared with 32% in another;
· long waits in A&E, with 25% saying they waited longer than the four hour maximum set by the government, rising to 61% at hospitals in Dudley, West Midlands;
· failure to handle patients with respect, with only 61% of patients at Newham university hospital, east London, satisfied that they were treated with dignity, compared with 96% at Papworth foundation trust, Cambridgeshire.
Anna Walker, the commission's chief executive, said 92% of patients rated their overall care highly. But trusts had to work harder to provide better information. At the Isle of Wight Healthcare trust 60% of patients said they were sent home without being told about side effects.
Ms Walker said: "Providing patients with the right information, in the right format and at the right time is crucial."
The survey found standards of cleanliness had fallen, with 52% of patients perceiving their room or ward to be "very clean", compared with 56% in 2002. There were big variations: at Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt orthopaedic and district hospital NHS trust in Oswestry, Shropshire, 89% thought the premises were spotless, compared with 32% at Newham.
The commission found that a fifth of patients were too infirm to eat meals without assistance. But among this group, 18% never had help and 21% only got it sometimes. Ms Walker said: "It is absolutely essential that people get the help they need with eating as good nourishment plays an important role in recovery."
