Improvement in overall experience at NDHT

The overall experience of inpatients at Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust (NDHT) has improved this year, according to the latest national inpatient survey.

Nearly 600 people shared their views about the care they received at NDHT.

The results have been published by the Care Quality Commission as part of its look at standards around the country.

The survey also puts NDHT in the top fifth of trusts for issues such as feeling looked after by hospital staff and the level of respect and dignity for patients. 

Dr Alison Diamond, chief executive for the Trust, said: “We are delighted patients rate their overall experience highly, and that this is improving, and we will carry on doing all we can to look at the issues that affect their experience.

“This survey is so important because listening to what patients are saying helps us to build on what we are doing well and address areas in which we can improve.”

Other areas where the Trust rated among the top 20% include:

• Availability of hospital staff to talk to patients about their worries and fears
• Emotional support from hospital staff during patients’ stay
• Number of nurses on duty to care for patients in hospital
• Hospital staff taking family or home situation into account when planning patient’s discharge

The Trust rated strongly amongst other health care trusts, with no areas in the bottom 20%. The Trust also scored higher this year in the majority of areas when compared to the 2014 survey. 

Areas where the Trust has significantly improved in 2015, compared to the last survey include:

• Patients being treated with respect and dignity whilst they were in the hospital
• Patients feeling well looked after by hospital staff
• Number of nurses on duty to care for patients in hospital
• Whether patients were told how they could expect to feel after they had an operation or procedure

The Trust also scored above the national average on the number of people rating their care, as well as their overall experience, as eight out of ten or above.

Dr Alison Diamond added: “We would like to thank our staff for their hard work and their dedication to improving patient care.”

Further information on the results of the survey can be found at: http://www.cqc.org.uk/content/adult-inpatient-survey-2015