Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals have been named as performing “much better than expected” in the Care Quality Commission’s 2018 Adult Inpatient Survey.
The survey covers a variety of issues such as communication with staff, feeling involved in decisions, being informed about the next steps in treatment and being offered emotional support.
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.
Each area consists of a number of specific questions, covering all aspects of patients’ experiences in hospital, from how long they had to wait beforehand to the preparation and communication when they went home.
Patients are asked, for example, whether they had ‘confidence and trust in the nurses treating them’, whether ‘doctors answered their questions in a way they could understand’, and if ‘the staff caring for them working well together.’
Patients rated Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals better than other hospitals across more than half of the questions in the survey, with results showing that:
- 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
- 96% felt the staff caring for them work well together
- 92% felt they were given enough information about their condition or treatment
- 94% felt they had any questions answered in a way they could understand, before an operation or procedure
- Over 90% felt they were given enough privacy for discussion around their condition and treatment and when being examined or treated
- 92% felt they did not have to wait a long time to get a bed on a ward
- Nearly 90% overall felt they had a good experience.
Written feedback included: “The specialists who performed my complicated surgery were truly amazing. The nurses were wonderful and treated me with dignity and respect. All the other support staff were professional and helpful.”
While the hospitals did not score ‘worse’ than others in any of the survey’s 72 questions, the patient and public engagement team will be working to identify key themes and build an action plan to address areas where there is room for further improvement.
Penny Agent, director of allied clinical sciences with oversight of patient experience, said: “Patient experience underpins everything we do, and while the average national results have declined slightly, it is very reassuring that our results remain very good and our patients rate their care highly.
“We are very proud of this and it is a reflection of the hard work, excellent care and clinical practice at the heart of our hospitals.
“We are looking at a detailed analysis of the findings so that we can continue to learn and improve our care even further.”