Patients rate UHNM highly in latest CQC Adult Inpatient Survey
Patients continue to rate their experience of care at University Hospitals of North Midlands (UHNM) highly following the publication of the Adult Inpatient Survey 2023.
A total of 444 adults who were inpatients at Royal Stoke University Hospital and County Hospital, Stafford in November 2023 completed the questionnaire about their experiences at the Trust, rating their overall experience as 8.3 out of 10, a small increase from 8.0 the previous year.
Their answers were analysed by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), and the results were published on 21 August 2024.
The survey covered a wide range of topics, such as waiting times, privacy and dignity, cleanliness, the standard of care received, food and drink, staffing levels, and patient discharges. Responses were then converted into scores out of 10 for each question and compared against those from other trusts.
There were no questions for which UHNM rated as worse than other Trusts, but it did score better than most in three questions relating to:
• not being prevented from sleeping by noise at night from other patients
• being given enough information on the care and treatment they would receive on a virtual ward
• expected care and support being available when needed after leaving hospital
UHNM improved its scores from the previous year in some of the following areas:
• feeling they did not have to wait a long time to get to a bed on a ward
• feeling that there were enough nurses on duty to care for them
• overall environment of the hospital or ward including cleanliness, noise, quality of food
• overall experience with doctors including doctors answering their questions in a way they could understand; having confidence and trust in the doctors treating them; doctors including them in discussions about their care
• nurses answering questions in a way they could understand
• being involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment
• being given enough information on their condition or treatment
• feeling able to talk to staff about any worries and fears, if needed
• being treated with respect and dignity
The highest rated question scored 9.6 out of 10, relating to whether patients were given enough privacy when being examined or treated.
A large proportion of the free text comments positively reflected staff, care, and treatment.
The report also highlighted several areas of improvement for the Trust to make based on areas where scores declined compared to last year's results. These include:
• feeling that they waited the right amount of time on the waiting list before being admitted
• being able to get help from a member of staff when needed
Ann-Marie Riley, Chief Nursing Officer at UHNM, said: "We are committed to providing the best possible care to all of our patients, so feedback provided via the Adult Inpatient Survey - both positive and negative - will help us learn and enhance patient experience.
"We are pleased to have seen improvements in a number of areas compared to last year and keen to build on these positives and we will work with clinical colleagues in areas where we know we can improve.
"Thank you to the hundreds of people who took the time to get involved and have their say, helping us to shape our services for future patients."
Nationally, the results show that patient satisfaction levels are largely unchanged since 2022 but remain significantly worse than pre-pandemic. They also highlight continued frustration with waiting times and an increase in the number who felt their health worsened while waiting to be admitted for elective care.