Why you should choose to have your treatment with us
Safe
In February 2006 an independent health watchdog confirmed that Southport & Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust is one of the safest in the country.
The assessment carried out in December 2005 by the NHS Litigation Authority put the Trust in an elite group of only 11 in the country that could boast the highest standards of safety for their patients.
We can now prove beyond doubt that you will receive the most appropriate, evidence based and up to date treatment; that we continue to reduce infection and that we are able to learn from our mistakes.
In the new era of ‘Choice’ where you are now able to choose the hospital where you want to go for treatment, you should look very carefully at the safety record of the choices on offer.
This award proves that we learn from our mistakes making Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust one of the safest in the country. This is as good a guarantee as you will get about the competence of the staff who treat you. For more information, visit the NHS Litigation Authority web site www.nhsla.com.
A recent independent review of our cancer services looked at how we ensure services are as safe as possible and recommended, “That this NHS Trust be used as an exemplar practice in its overall approach and delivery of the cancer services agenda and palliative care in particular.” For more information on our cancer services, including the review, click here.
For the fifth year running, Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust has been named among the top performers in the country’s sixth 40 Top Hospitals programme assessed by the country’s leading hospital benchmarking company, CHKS. The Trust is the only one on Merseyside to be among this year’s 40 Top Hospitals, and one of only three from Cheshire & Merseyside Strategic Health Authority. For more information, visit the CHKS web site at www.chks.co.uk.
Clean
If you choose Southport & Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust you will be treated in one of the cleanest hospitals in the country.
Figures published in July 2006 show that in the five years that they have been published, Southport & Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust still has the lowest rate of MRSA Bloodstream infection of any General Acute hospital in the country.
In that time we have reported the lowest percentage rate of any General Acute Trust in the country, having a total of only 52 cases during those five years. For more information on the way the figures are reported, visit the Health Protection Agency web site at www.hpa.org.uk.
We believe you have a right to expect a high standard of care every time you visit our hospital and we believe our team approach to cleanliness, with domestic services working together with nursing staff and the infection control team, is the most effective way of fulfilling those expectations.
In the latest Patient Environment Action Team (PEAT) inspection for environment and food, both Ormskirk & District General Hospital and Southport & Formby District General Hospital received the top mark of Excellent for all categories. For more information visit the Patient Environment Action Team web site at patientexperience.nhsestates.gov.uk.
Cleanyourhands
We were one of the first hospitals to adopt this campaign that aims to improve hand hygiene within hospitals in a bid to reduce infections.
It helps to make it as easy as possible for staff to clean their hands at the right time for the right task, and gives patients the power to ask staff if they have washed their hands.
For more information on the Campaign visit the National Patient Safety Agency website at www.npsa.nhs.uk/cleanyourhands.
Friendly
We believe the environment you are treated in has an important part to play in your recovery. This includes how all our staff treat you when you are in our hospital.
All the staff at Southport & Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust, including porters, cleaning and catering staff, as well as the medical staff, are encouraged to take part in customer care training. They must all take part in Equality and Diversity training.
We expect our staff to be helpful, polite, courteous, approachable and above all friendly. We expect them to treat you with the same respect and dignity with which they would want to be treated.
If you feel we have not met this standard and are unhappy with the way we have dealt with you, we will aim to deal swiftly with it once it is brought to our attention.
Getting to our hospitals
The hospitals at both Southport and Ormskirk are well served by buses and patients in possession of either a West Lancs ‘Nowcard’ or a Merseytravel Elderly Persons Travel Pass are able to use the cards to get to both towns free of charge in accordance with the usual conditions. Full details of this and other bus services are available from Travel Line on 0871 200 22 33 or www.merseytravel.gov.uk.
There is limited car parking available at the hospital for a charge of £3 payable by cash on exit at Ormskirk and by token at Southport. A weekly parking permit is also available for a reduced rate.
Patients on low income or benefits may be entitled to reimbursement of travel costs, details from the general office.
Facilities for patients & visitors
At Southport & Formby District General Hospital
- A WRVS run shop is by the main entrance and sells a wide range of goods. It is open 9am – 7pm weekdays and 9am – 5pm Saturday and Sunday.
- Applejacks Coffee shop near the main entrance has both eat-in and takeaway food. Open 8.30am – 4pm weekdays. It offers a wide range of made-to-order sandwiches, cakes, etc and hot and cold drinks.
- Russets Restaurant on the first floor near to wards 14A & B. It opens for breakfast at 7.30am and closes at 7pm every day. A daily lunchtime menu is served between 11.30 and 2pm with four main courses and a salad bar. An evening meal is available from 3.30 to 7pm. Sandwiches, snacks and drinks are available throughout the day.
At Ormskirk & District General Hospital
- The hospital shop located on level 2 is run by volunteers and sells a wide range of goods. It opens 9.30am – 4.15pm and 6pm – 8pm weekdays and 1.30pm – 4.15 at weekends.
- The coffee bar by the main entrance, run by the Hospital League of Friends, serves hot and cold drinks and light snacks. It is open from 9am – 4pm on weekdays.
- The Restaurant and Coffee Lounge on level 2 is open every day serving hot meals, snacks and hot and cold drinks. It opens for breakfast at 8.30am and closes at 6.30pm on weekdays and 6.15pm at weekends. Lunch is served between 12noon and 1.30, offering a wide choice of hot food and salads. Evening meals are served from 4.40pm. Vending machines are available at all times.
Most beds have Patientline facilities, which allow access to TV, the internet, e-mail and telephone for a daily charge.
Both hospitals have a Chapel, open every day, where all are welcome to spend some quiet moments in peace.
Further details of all our facilities, both clinical and non-clinical are available on the above menu.