13 November 2009
Patients at Epsom and St Helier hospitals are being offered a new way to tell hospital bosses exactly what they think - with more than 1,500 having already given their views.
Thanks to 15 new portable computers called patient feedback trackers, inpatients in the two hospitals can give their views on a range of topics at the press of a button.
Joanne Chapman, patient experience manager at the Trust, explained: "There are eight of the state-of-the-art machines at St Helier Hospital and seven at Epsom. For three months, patients who are well enough to take part are given the same questions to answer on a specific topic. After three months, the topic changes.
"This gives patients the chance to tell us their views, and it tells us instantly where people think we are doing well, and where we need to further improve."
Recently, 1,503 inpatients were asked for their views on privacy and dignity in the Trust's hospitals. Of those, 95% said staff 'always' maintained their privacy and dignity or did so 'most of the time' (the second highest rating).
When asked 'Were our staff respectful to you today?' 97% answered 'always' or 'most of the time'. In addition, 93% of patients said they were given enough privacy 'always' or 'most of the time' when discussing their condition and treatment.
Samantha Jones, the Trust's Chief Executive, said: "These results are highly encouraging. They show that our work to further improve the experience that patients have in our hospitals is paying off.
"My message to our staff and volunteers is that we must treat every patient as an individual and in the way we would want to be treated if we were in hospital."
The results support the findings of the Care Quality Commission's inpatient survey 2008, published in May, which praised the Trust for scoring 'significantly better than the previous year' when it comes to treating patients with privacy and dignity.
From October through to December, inpatients will be asked for their views on how well they feel doctors and nurses communicate with them.
