We make time to listen and act on feedback from our patients. 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.
Feedback comes from a variety of sources and we use it to continually improve patient care. We are proud to have scored highly in the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC’s) 2018 Adult Inpatient Survey.
The CQC looked at the experiences of more than 450 patients from our hospitals. In nine out of ten overall areas – ranging from ‘doctors’, ‘nurses’ to ‘waiting lists’ and ‘care and treatment’ – the Trust was named better than other trusts.
Highlights included:
- 96% of patients overall felt they were treated with dignity and respect
- 96% had confidence and trust in the doctors treating them
- 94% had confidence and trust in the nurses and other clinical staff treating them
- 92% had confidence in the decisions being made about their care or treatment.
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) – patients at the Trust gave an average score of nine out of 10.
In the Friends and Family Test – a mandatory score based on comment forms NHS patients complete when they are discharged – 95 per cent of patients said they would recommend our services to their friends and family.
Actions taken as a result of feedback include:
- Developing a garden for patients on transplant wards and creating an outdoor garden for respiratory patients.
- Producing new materials with site maps to help patients find their way around more easily.
- Introducing staggered hospital admissions to reduce patient waiting times.
Views of our patients
Harefield
Acorn ward (acute cardiac care)
“Harefield is a fantastic hospital. There is a feeling there that you are in the hands of the very best people. There is a mix of quiet and confident efficiency coupled with a nursing team who demonstrate that they genuinely seem to care.”
Royal Brompton
Victoria ward (acute and chronic respiratory)
“There was an outstandingly good patient experience for which I am extremely grateful. Staff throughout Royal Brompton were professional, kind, courteous and clearly team players. An exemplary hospital. Many thanks. Staff took endless time to explain simply what was going on.”
Harefield
Cherry Tree ward (day case)
“I consider the attitude of the staff was exemplary, the clinical treatment was exemplary. I felt very reassured and safe in the hands of the staff and the clinical staff and would thoroughly recommend them to anybody. Thank you very much.”
Royal Brompton
York ward (cardiac care)
“The staff were excellent, from the paramedics to the nurses to the surgeons. The hospital was clean. The hospital looked well maintained. The food was high quality. The staff went above and beyond to explain the procedure to me. I felt very safe and cared for.”
Bringing the outdoors in
Patients on Royal Brompton’s Victoria ward can now relax in a secluded outdoor garden area, thanks to a project led by sister Tasmin Fernandes.
Clinical teams on the ward treat and care for patients with acute respiratory conditions. The project was inspired by two patients who told staff about how they missed being outdoors during inpatient stays. It aims to provide a space that enhances wellbeing and experience. Sister Fernandes said: “Some of our patients can be on the ward for up to 12 months and some are in isolation, so it can be hard for them to get outside. The new garden serves as a convenient space to get some fresh air and will help contribute to their rehabilitation and wellbeing.”
She and the rest of the ward team spent a year on the project to establish the garden in a small outdoor space leading out from an area on the ward. The garden has been warmly welcomed by patients on the ward.
Johanna Callas, who has chronic asthma, said: “The garden is amazing. I’ve been coming to Victoria ward for 10 years and spend up to two weeks at a time here. It’s something patients really needed because it can feel very claustrophobic on the ward. I find it calming. It’s peaceful and quiet which I find relaxing, and it’s nice to be able to go somewhere away from everyone else.”
Online feedback about our care
Care Opinion
“I was referred to Harefield for the surgical removal of an unidentified growth in my right lung. From the moment I was admitted, I was impressed by the efficient, friendly care from the nursing staff on Cedar ward. They were attentive and always quick to respond to a call for assistance. The surgical care was also top class and the operation was successful.”
Care Opinion
“My mum was admitted to Royal Brompton after a heart attack. The staff on York ward and in the HDU (high dependency unit) were completely professional and out of this world. I would recommend every single one of them and thank them from the bottom of my heart.”
Care Opinion
“The care from everyone from the porters to the surgeons [at Harefield] was exemplary. The compassion and care shown by the nursing staff was beyond all expectations and I was so humbled and grateful.”
NHS.uk
“From the delightful nurse who weighed me, to the humour and kindness in the blood test room, to the superb doctor, I was very impressed by the patient care approach [at Royal Brompton]. I felt very much at ease and cared for and I highly recommend this hospital.”
NHS.uk
“I want to give the utmost praise and positive recognition to all the staff at Harefield who cared for my gran for all the years she came here. She continued after her heart transplant in 1996, to give the family many more years of memories. Thank you all so much.”
NHS.uk
“The staff on Cherry Tree ward could not have been better. I was kept informed of everything that was happening and the nurses were always very professional. The overall experience couldn’t be faulted and all the staff were superb at putting me at ease.”
“My husband had a double lung transplant at Harefield Hospital. From the very first appointment we were well looked after and never felt as though we were on our own. The support we have had and are still getting is fantastic.”
“I am absolutely in awe of the amazing cardiac team [at Royal Brompton]. Thank you to @RBandH from the bottom of my heart for saving my soulmate’s heart.”