One of the Trust’s core valves is treating patients with respect, dignity and courtesy, and making sure they are well informed and involved in decisions about their care. We always make time to listen to what patients say and to act on their feedback.
We gather feedback from various sources and use it to continually improve our patient care.
The Trust scored highly in the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC’s) 2019 Adult Inpatient Survey.
For the survey, which covers different aspects of care and treatment, the CQC looked at the experiences of more than 654 patients who stayed in our hospitals.
The Trust was named better than other trusts in eight of the 11 areas covered. Each area consists of a number of specific questions, on a variety of subjects such as waiting to get a bed, being informed about the next steps in treatment and being offered emotional support.
Our results showed that:
- 99 per cent of patients felt they were treated with dignity and respect always or most of the time.
- Over 98 per cent of patients had confidence in all the staff who treated them, including nurses, doctors, physiotherapists, dietitians and other allied health professionals.
- 96 per cent of patients felt they were involved in clinical decision making.
Other evaluations also resulted in positive feedback, including NHS England’s Friends and Family Test. This mandatory survey asks Trust patients to give their views on their care – 96 per cent or more of our patients said they would recommend our services to their friends and family.
In the National Cancer Patient Experience Survey, when asked how they would rate their care on a scale of zero (very poor) to 10 (very good) – our patients gave us an average rating of nine out of 10.
Feedback offers extremely helpful insight which helps us improve our services. Examples of our actions in response to feedback include:
- Taking steps to limit noise at night in Royal Brompton’s High Dependency Unit after it was highlighted as an issue for patients.
- Refurbishing and redecorating the children’s ward – including child-friendly artwork in rooms.
- Reducing the time patients have to wait for lung transplant clinic appointments at Harefield. We achieved this by acquiring an extra clinic consulting room and recruiting an additional consultant. These steps enabled us to increase the number of weekly clinics we offer from two to four.
Views of our patients
Harefield
Cherry Tree ward (day case)
“The team who did my biopsy also were first-class and explained very thoroughly what was going to happen and were very compassionate and caring. I could not have been in safer hands.”
Royal Brompton
Foulis ward (respiratory care)
“The nurses make me feel almost like I’m at home as much as is possible. Always there to air problems and to cheer us up, and they are such good fun. The level of care is just amazing. They know us all nearly as much as we know ourselves and are so professional.”
Harefield
Oak, Acorn (acute cardiac care) and Rowan (transplant) wards and the Intensive Therapy Unit (ITU)
“All of the staff cared for me with compassion and dignity. They all worked physically demanding shifts and yet had smiles on their faces at all times. My stay on Oak, ITU, Rowan and Acorn wards was made to feel like a home away from home.”
Royal Brompton
Paul Wood ward (mixed cardiology and cardiac surgery)
“Absolutely everyone I dealt with – on the ward, in theatre prep and in recovery was outstanding – totally professional and very caring. I have been attending the Brompton since I was five in 1971. I have lived all over the country but won’t change hospital due to the brilliant service here.”
New Patients and Public Engagement strategy launches
The Trust’s patient engagement team launched a new Patient and Public Engagement (PPE) strategy at a launch event for staff and patient representatives.
The strategy aims to Listen to patients’ experiences of care in our hospitals; Learn from their stories and experiences; and act on and Lead changes in Trust services. Delivering excellent care requires the experience of patients to be considered at every opportunity and to embed this in the Trust’s leadership, culture and operational processes. Collecting, analysing, using and learning from feedback is an essential part of this process.
At the event, Penny Agent, director of allied clinical sciences and patient engagement, explained the importance of having a PPE strategy.
She said: “Delivering the best patient experience we can across every area of the Trust is paramount to what we do. By fully engaging and listening to our patients we can make meaningful improvements to their care and experience – our Patient and Public Engagement Strategy underpins this.”
Janet Hogben, non-executive director of the Trust, who is working with the PPE team on the new strategy, said: “I feel very strongly that we’ve got to build on the very good feedback we get – which in 90 per cent plus of cases – is excellent, but also balance it with the more effective approach of responding to cases where patient experience isn’t what patients wanted or we want for them.”
Pete Laybourne, Harefield heart patient and Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) volunteer, will be helping the PPE team to bring the strategy to life.
He explained: “The key thing is about listening to stories and patients’ experiences and learning from them so we can use that feedback to make real change to the services that we have.”
Some online patient feedback
NHS.uk
“Absolutely phenomenal care from everyone [at Harefield Hospital] from porters, nurses and doctors. Professional and caring. The nurses on Oak Ward were fantastic and we cannot thank them enough. Immediate medical treatment for a heart attack meant I recovered quickly and they treated both my partner and myself like individuals who mattered. Thank you for everything.”
NHS.uk
“I find it difficult to find the words to express my admiration and thanks to all the staff [at Royal Brompton] that helped me through my operation and aftercare, from catering to cleaning to nurses of all ranks and to surgeons’ teams I cannot have asked for more professional, caring, laughing, friendly people with a wonderful work ethic. They all have my undying admiration and thanks.”
NHS.uk
“At approximately 1.40 a.m. my wife dialled 999 to get help when I awoke with severe chest pains. The ambulance crew were fast and efficient and made the decision to ’blue light‘ me to the heart attack centre at Harefield Hospital. On arrival, there was a team at the door waiting for me. An angioplasty was performed and completed less than two hours after the original 999 call. My heartfelt thanks goes to those who cared for me on that night and subsequently as an in-patient. I have experienced the NHS at it absolute best.”
NHS.uk
“This hospital [Royal Brompton] is simply magnificent –the NHS at its best. They have never given up keeping me alive!”
“The care and attention I received from the surgeon right through to the people who served the meals [at Harefield Hospital] was unbelievable. Thank you so much for looking after me, reassuring me, and explaining what was going on. Could not have been in a better place.”
“Without the treatment that I received at Royal Brompton my life would not be as it is today, and I am truly grateful for that. Today, I do not have to take any medication and I lead a normal and active life.”
“I am being discharged from Harefield after a successful cardiac ablation. What a great team you have there, from the doctors to the nurses and support staff, who are all superb. Thank you.”