RD&E gets top marks in CQC survey

Children and young people who have received treatment at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital have given the Trust top marks for communication in the first Care Quality Commission (CQC) Children and young people’s survey 2014.

The survey shows that children who underwent inpatient or daycase treatment in the hospital’s dedicated children’s ward, Bramble, felt that they were listened to by staff and that procedures and outcomes of treatment were explained in a way that they could understand.    

This is the first national children’s survey conducted by CQC. It represents the experiences of nearly 19,000 children, young people and their families who received care in 137 acute NHS trusts in 2014. Questionnaires were sent to children aged between 8-15, with extra questions for their parents or carers, and sent to an adult for those under eight. The CQC then ‘scored’ different parts of the care from 0 (worst) to 10 (best), based on how these patients and their families perceived the quality and standard of their treatment at various stages during their hospital stay.

The CQC received responses from 201 young patients and their families at the RD&E during July and August 2014.
The Trust performed well across a range of measures which covered every aspect of a child’s stay in hospital, including staying on the ward, their interaction with staff, perceptions of pain management, and facilities for parents and carers.

One of the highest scoring areas, where the RD&E performed better than most other Trusts in the survey, was staff communication with young patients and their families. The RD&E scored 8.5 for communicating with young children in a way that they could understand, 9.5 for providing clear explanations to parents and carers and 8.5 for involving parents in decisions about their child’s care. Children also said they felt that staff listened to them (9.5) and that they were given information before (9.8) and after (9.1) an operation or procedure.

The Trust also performed better that the majority of Trusts on parent’s views of pain management (9.1) and parent’s confidence and trust in the staff treating their child (9.3).   
Angela Pedder, Chief Executive of the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are delighted by what our young patients and their families have told us through this survey. The results show that our patients and their relatives really value staff taking the time to talk through their care and listen to their point of view and that they have confidence in the teams delivering their treatment.

Our staff  work hard to support our patients and their families and should be congratulated for these results without their commitment and dedication none of this good work would be possible.”