Feedback from patients is being used to drive forward improvements at the Royal United Hospital here in Bath.
They have been asking patients to tell them what they think as part of the national ‘Friends and Family Test’, which asks one simple question: ‘How likely are you to recommend our ward/Emergency Department to friends and family if they needed similar care or treatment?’
Patients can choose from one of six answers, ranging from ‘extremely likely’ to ‘extremely unlikely’.
The first set of results for the test has now been published on NHS England’s website, www.england.nhs.uk.
They show that more than 3,000 patients gave their views on the RUH during the months of April to June, or 22 per cent of those patients eligible to do so – and they achieved a Friends and Family score of +70.
The score represents the proportion of patients who would strongly recommend the RUH, minus those who would not recommend or who are indifferent, with a possible range from -100 (would not recommend) to +100 (strongly recommend).
Acting Director of Nursing Mary Lewis said: “We are very pleased with the high numbers of patients who have provided feedback on their experience of the RUH, and that so many say they would recommend our hospital to their friends and family.
“This is about so much more than numbers – it’s about getting real, valuable feedback from our patients and using it to make a difference.
“We now have a wealth of feedback from patients which we are able to use to bring in long-term improvements. One of the issues people told us about is food, with many positive and negative comments. We have used these comments to put together a plan which will enable us to improve the meals we provide to our patients, which includes providing hot meals on wards in the evenings as well as at lunchtimes.
“The feedback we have received is going to make a real difference to the experience our patients have. I would urge everyone who comes to the RUH and spends at least one night on one of our wards or visits our Emergency Department and is not admitted to please fill in one of our ‘Tell us what you think’ cards.”
In addition to answering the question about whether they would recommend the RUH, they ask patients to provide more feedback if they wish to and these comments are particularly useful.
In line with the national programme, all patients aged over 16 who stay at least one night on one of the wards, or attend the Emergency Department but are not admitted to the hospital are invited to respond confidentially to the Friends and Family question. Patients are asked to answer before going home, or online within 48 hours of being discharged at www.ruh.nhs.uk/fft
Ways of gaining feedback from children and young people are also being developed at the RUH.
The national Friends and Family Test officially started in April, however they began trialling the test in March this year.
