Ten more iPads have been provided by Walsall Healthcare’s Well Wishers charity to give patients the opportunity to talk about their care whilst in hospital.

The charity purchased the iPads last year following a request from the Patient Experience Team which uses the devices across wards and services.

The team uses the devices to offer ward surveys such as the Friends and Family Test and Mystery Patient Scheme. This is so that it can collate feedback about patients’ care and treatment which will help improve services provided and celebrate any successes.

The iPads are also used to support patients to make video and facetime calls to family who aren’t able to come into the hospital or don’t live locally. International calls are also made. This service was incredibly useful during the pandemic.

Chloe Danks, Senior Patient Experience officer, said: “We’re delighted to have received another ten iPads from our Well Wishers charity as we are able to use them to give patients the opportunity to provide feedback on their care whilst in hospital. This is very important to us as patient satisfaction is our priority. This helps us as a team as we can make any improvements needed and also share and maintain when great care has been received.

“We have also been welcoming visitors back for many months now but there are always occasions when people can’t make it to the hospital and this means they don’t have to miss out. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, iPads were invaluable for our patients who were in hospital unable to have visitors because of the necessary infection prevention measures put in place across the country.

“We helped patients stay in touch with their loved ones and friends and could make sure they didn’t miss out on important events such as weddings and funerals at that time. As a team we found this so rewarding and very emotional at times because the pandemic affected so many communities in so many ways and we wanted to do all we could to help.”

Georgie Westley, Fundraising Manager, added: “We know what a difference this makes to our patients – and it can help with their recovery too as well as their mental wellbeing. Thank you so much to everyone who supports the fundraising hub by purchasing books, cards, knitted items etc as without your support we would not be able to support these initiatives”.