Derriford patients report being well looked after

The latest independent survey has found that the majority of patients treated at Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust feel that they were well looked after by hospital staff, during their time in hospital. They also reported to having confidence and trust in the doctors and nurses treating them, as well as being treated with dignity and respect while in hospital.

The survey, commissioned by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), asked adults who were discharged from Plymouth Hospitals during July 2016 after having spent at least one night in hospital, to rate various aspects of their stay and care.

The Trust improved its scores in eighteen areas, compared to last year’s survey. Some of the areas where we improved include:

patients were given the right amount of information about their condition or treatment, while in the Emergency Department
admission dates were not changed by the hospital
fewer patients reporting to waiting a long time to get a bed on a ward
the majority of patients rated the food as ‘very good’ or ‘good’
patients felt they received enough help from staff to eat their meals
patients did not feel that doctors were talking in front of them as though they were not there
patients felt involved in decisions about their discharge from hospital
patients felt they were given enough privacy when their condition or treatment as being discussed.

“It is pleasing to see further improvements to our scores from last year,” said Professor Greg Dix, Chief Nurse and Operating Officer for Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust. “The results are testament to the hard work and excellent care our staff continually provide, day in and day out.

“Capturing feedback from our patients is crucial for us to see what we are getting right but also for us to understand what might need to be worked on, improved or changed. The national inpatient survey is one of the many ways we can do this.”

Greg continued: “If you’ve been a patient, or know someone who has, you or they may have also been asked to give feedback whilst on the ward, as this enables us to capture real-time data, or perhaps you or they have completed one of our surveys, the Friends and Family test or another independent survey. We also gather feedback shared with us through our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) and our social media pages.

“We really do appreciate our patients and their relatives taking the time to tell us what they think.”

There were a small number of areas where the Trust’s score had gone down from the previous year’s survey. They were:

patients reporting to using the same bathroom as patients of the opposite sex
patients felt their discharge delays were linked to seeing a doctor
patients felt their discharge delays were linked to something else
at the point of discharge some patients did not feel as though they were given clear written or printed information about medicines.

“We recognise that we still have areas that we need to improve on for our patients and we are working on this,” Greg added.

The survey was sent to a sample of 1,250 patients, discharged by the Trust. There was a 51% response rate, above the overall average of 47%. For further information, please visit: http://www.cqc.org.uk/content/surveys