2012 survey results show steadily improving care, say patients

The results of the 2012 inpatient survey, released today, show that patients have recognised improvements in the following areas of care provided at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital:

• Being given privacy when being seen in the A&E department
• Being involved in decisions made about care and treatment
• Having questions about their operation answered
• Receiving all doctors letters throughout the course of treatment
• Being given information about on-going care after leaving hospital

There are areas where the survey results suggest we could improve and this year we will focus on making sure that specific information about possible complications is given to all patients upon discharge.

Since the survey took place last September we have already focused on improving the support that nurses provide to inpatients by introducing comfort rounds on wards, where patients are asked by a nurse whether they need any support or assistance every two hours or less. We believe that this positive development will be reflected in the 2013 results.

Chief nurse Thérèse Davis said: “We are committed to using patient feedback to ensure all patients receive an excellent service from the Chelsea and Westminster team. In addition to the annual inpatient survey, we measure the number of patients recommending the hospital to friends and family on a monthly basis and the latest results show that 95% of patients would recommend Chelsea and Westminster Hospital as a place to receive excellent NHS care.

“It’s heartening that patients are telling us through these annual survey results that we provide a good standard of care and experience to them, but we can always do better.

“There are areas where we need to improve and these are being addressed through an action plan, monitored at Trust Board level. We believe that investments we will make this year to both facilities and clinical staffing will show even greater improvement in the 2013 results.

“We would like to encourage those given the opportunity to participate in the survey to do so as a larger response rate will provide us with more representative feedback that we can use to improve the service we deliver to future patients.”