Observations of patient care at Eastbourne District General Hospital
During 2026, we collaborated with East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust to co-design, plan and undertake observational visits to support our understanding of patient experiences and their priorities in providing high-quality care.
Our visits aimed to support the Trust in understanding how key aspects of basic care are delivered and included the nature of settings, information sharing and communication between clinicians and patients, food and drink provision, cleanliness, continence management, dignity and privacy.
Our project
In September 2026, Healthwatch staff and volunteers made eight observational visits across two different wards at Eastbourne District General Hospital within a two week timeframe.
Our objectives were:
- Observe the hospital environment, staff–patient interactions, and general patient experience
- Speak with patients, carers, and staff (where appropriate) to understand lived experience of using ESHT services
- Produce a concise clear, accessible and timely Healthwatch report summarising findings and recommendations
- Share findings with the hospital trust, commissioners, and the public
Key Findings
Our report identifies the key themes we observed and heard during our visits, including:
- Patient feedback and our observations indicate a largely positive picture of compassionate, patient-focused care being delivered by committed staff working under significant operational pressures.
- Patients and relatives consistently described care in positive terms, and our observations identified multiple examples of respectful, caring and effective interactions between staff and patients.
- Nurses, care support workers and other staff were frequently observed working together to support patients' physical, emotional and nutritional needs, demonstrating a team approach and a commitment to person-centred care. Despite some staffing shortages and varied patient needs, the quality of day-to-day care observed remained high.
- The most significant concern identified was the number of patients who appeared to be inappropriately placed within the wards visited. Several patients living with mental health needs, appeared to have little or no ongoing acute medical requirement but remained due to difficulties securing appropriate alternatives.
- While some patients demonstrated a clear understanding of their care journey, others remained uncertain about their diagnosis, treatment plans or likely discharge arrangements. Improving consistency in communication and involving patients and families earlier and more effectively in discharge planning may enhance patient experience and support informed decision-making.
-
Several environmental and operational challenges were observed, including limited ward storage, broken dishwashing facilities and staffing levels that were occasionally below planned establishments. Whilst staff generally adapted well to these constraints, they may create inefficiencies and place further pressure on already stretched teams.
Overall, our visits found dedicated staff providing good quality, compassionate care in challenging circumstances. The principal areas identified as requiring attention do not relate to the commitment or quality of frontline staff, but rather to systemic issues around patient flow, discharge delays, placement availability, communication processes and operational infrastructure. Addressing these challenges will be essential to sustaining the high standards of care observed and ensuring patients receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time.
Recommendations
Based on the feedback we’ve received, we have identified several areas where changes could improve the experiences of patients now and in the future, which include:
- Maintaining strategic level discussions between NHS commissioners and providers so people receive care and support in the most appropriate setting for their physical and mental health needs.
- Regularly reviewing the ways in which information is communicated to patients and their families, to ensure they are fully informed and involved in their care, treatment and discharge.
- Reviewing spaces and infrastructure to ensure these are functioning efficiently, effectively and safely.
- Ensuring staff are aware of and following organisational processes for Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard (DoLS).
Response from East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust
East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust welcomes the Healthwatch East Sussex report and thanks the authorised representatives for taking the time to observe and speak with patients during the visits to EDGH. We are pleased that the overall findings were largely positive and reflected compassionate, patient-centred care. We also welcome the areas identified for further improvement and will use these findings alongside our wider patient-experience and governance information to support continued learning.
In response to the recommendations, we propose to highlight the following:
- Patients requiring mental health support: ESHT will continue its joint working with Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SPFT) to review pathways, escalation arrangements and the experience of patients who may be cared for in an acute hospital setting while awaiting more appropriate mental health provision. Existing ESHT–SPFT discussions provide a route for concerns to be escalated and opportunities for improvement to be identified jointly
- Quality walks, will now include hand hygiene, ensure the process has been followed for Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard and where possible patients are dressed or appropriately dressed to maintain their dignity
- Dishwashers: The observations relating dishwashers has been shared with the relevant facilities teams
- Learning and assurance: Actions arising from the report will be shared with the appropriate operational and governance teams
Overall, the Trust values its collaborative relationship with Healthwatch East Sussex and the independent insight these visits provide. We welcome the opportunity to continue this work and to discuss future observational activity in 2027.
Next steps
We will continue to collaborate East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust on initiatives to capture, explore and respond to patient experiences.
We will continue to monitor the feedback we receive about hospital services, sharing examples and the themes, with both those commissioning services and the providers to raise awareness of the experiences of patients.
We will share this report with NHS England, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), Healthwatch England and others to share this insight and support future service development.
Share Your Feedback
If you would like to tell us about your experience of NHS and/or social care services, be it good or bad, please contact us via our Feedback Centre
or
our Information & Signposting Service via enquiries@healthwatcheastsussex.co.uk or 0333 101 4007 (Monday – Friday, 10am – 2pm).
