The Wharfside Patients Forum meets regularly to discuss how the clinic operates and share concerns with the management. Representatives from the Forum also attend regular management meetings with the senior staff.
If you have an issue that you would like discussed, you can contact us in a number of ways.
Firstly, the suggestion box in Wharfside is dealt with by the Forum - the staff hold the key, but the Forum open the box and read the comments.
You can email us at forum@wharfside.org.uk and one of the forum members will read your comments in confidence : all of us have signed agreements to protect your confidentiality.
You can write to us in confidence at Wharfside Forum, Jefferiss Wing, St. Mary's Hospital, London W2 1NY
Or you can come along to a forum meeting and make your feelings known.
The Wharfside Forum is not set up to deal with specific complaints about the way you are treated at the hospital. There are specific ways to make complaints and we can help you do this.
The first thing to do is to raise the issue at the time with the staff. If you feel you can't do that, then contact us and we will suggest who you could discuss the issue with. If that doesn't work, you can take matters further with the Patient Advice and Liaison Service of St. Mary's NHS Trust. More details of that service are available here.
Long term in patients in Rodney Porter Ward were commenting about the lack of stimulation in their private rooms. One suggestion was that internet access would help provide something else to do and a way of keeping in touch with the outside world. This is now being provided.
Availability of condoms was raised as an issue - an experiment was carried out to make them more available and avoid patients' embarassment at asking for them. The experiement failed because people took too many condoms all at once. New ways of addressing this issue are being looked at. Meanwhile, it's a sexual health clinic, there should be no embarassment in asking for help to maintain good sexual health. Condoms are available, ask your clinic doctor or one of the nursing staff for them.
The reception refurbishment was warmly welcomed, but there were some issues that needed changing. One was the chair in front of the reception window, because it was too low. The refurbishment was paid for by the Friends of St. Mary's Hospital who work hard raising money for all parts of the hospital to make it a better place for patients and staff.
We have also constantly tried to support the clinic in improving the quality of service provided by the receptionists - this work continues and we admit we haven't solved it yet.
We asked for the stairwell of the clinic to be redecorated as it was filthy. This has been done and the flooring has been replaced too. Goodbye to the chewing gum carpet!
Hepatitis C Clinics are currently held on the 10th floor of the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Wing of St. Mary's. Patients find this inconvenient, but there isn't room in Wharfside for this co-infection clinic to be held there. We are working with the clinic management to discuss long term solutions to this problem.
Walk In Clinics can be chaotic. A nurse led triage service is supposed to operate, but there aren't enough staff nurses. More are being recruited. The Forum has told the clinic that we don't accept that all patients should be forced to register with a GP if they don't want to, but we accept that many people turn up for the walk-in and expect to be treated for anything and everything whether it is HIV related or not.
Be assured if you are ill, you will be seen. Delays are often caused by staff dealing with more serious cases so please be patient. If you feel really ill, tell someone. You should not have to sit and wait in the reception area if you are very ill.
Other issues we have raised - here's a few
What do patients do while they wait for pharmacy to dispense prescriptions? What would the take up be for having prescriptions delivered to patients' homes instead?
People with mobility problems have difficulty getting to the clinic and there is a particular lack of disabled parking bays at the hospital.
Possibility for patients who are stable on their treatment regime not to have to see the doctor so frequently, perhaps a nurse led clinic or extending the gap between visits as long as blood tests are taken at appropriate times.
The Forum has raised the link between anal warts and cancer, and the lack of services at Wharfside to provide a better service for HPV testing and anal smear tests.
Discussion on some junior doctors at Walk-in clinic not dealing sensitively with “self management” strategies that patients try to use to treat themselves before admitting defeat and presenting at the clinic only to be “told off” for trying to treat themselves. A solution was potentially that consultants who prescribe patients prophylactic drugs or antibiotics for self administration when required, should make a clearer note of this on medical records in order to stop junior doctors questioning patients who self medicate.