Patients rate their hospital (From Swindon Advertiser)

Patients rate their hospital

6:10pm Thursday 16th February 2012 in News By Katie Bond

A RECENT survey carried out at the Great Western Hospital has found the trust is performing well in treating patients with respect, despite a report claiming otherwise.

The survey, which was carried out between June and November by the Care Quality Commission, was completed by more than 400 patients who had attended an outpatient appointment at the hospital.

They were quizzed on their experiences, from the wait at the hospital, seeing a doctor, tests and treatments, overall impression and care.

And the results show that patients seem satisfied with their visits.

The trust was marked out of 10 on each subject and the trust performed the same as other trusts in the country but the lowest score came when patients were asked about delays in starting appointments with a mark of just 3.5 out of 10.

And, despite a recent Care Quality Commission report expressing minor concerns with the privacy some patients were receiving, the trust received 9.5 out of 10 in this category, based on patients’ responses to the survey.

The GWH was also marked highly on informing patients on how to take medicines correctly, acknowledging patients and the cleanliness of toilets.

A spokesman at Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “We are pleased with the results of the Outpatient Survey from the Care Quality Commission, particularly to have received high scores not just in some of the clinical aspects of patient care, but also in the more personal aspects such as patients feeling listened to.

“It is important for us to continually monitor feedback from our patients to assess their hospital experience, this helps us identify areas where we are doing well, but also the areas which need further work.

“These results show informing outpatients about delays to their appointments is an area patients do not rate as highly.

“The score is similar to other trusts which demonstrates keeping outpatients informed about delays is something many trusts need to continue to work on.

“The high scores for privacy of discussions and for patients feeling they are being treated with respect and dignity are encouraging; together with the work we are doing to address the concerns raised in the recent CQC inspection, we hope that we can further enhance privacy and dignity for all our patients.”