Our work with a local hospital trust has led to a range of measures to improve the experiences of people on a waiting list for surgery. Keeping people updated about their place on a list and taking personal needs (such as housing and social support) into consideration are two of the steps that are being taken.
We visited six inpatient wards managed by Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership across the local area. Patients and staff told us what's working well, and where improvements are needed.
North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) asked us to find out how they could support people on waiting lists for elective surgery and surgical investigations, with a focus on marginalised and seldom-heard communities.