A higher proportion of patients who used hospitals in England in 2007 were satisfied with the care they received than in the previous year, a Healthcare Commission survey shows.
The study, carried out by the Picker Institute, looked at responses from nearly 76 000 inpatients treated at a total of 165 English hospital trusts.
It showed that 42% of patients rated their care as “excellent,” the top possible rating. In the 2006 survey this percentage was 41% and in 2002 it was 38%. In 2007 nearly all patients (92%) rated their care as good, very good, or excellent.
Overall, 67% considered that when they asked doctors important questions they always got answers they could understand. Eighty per cent said they always had trust and confidence in their doctors. But 22% said they felt that their doctors talked about them as if they weren’t there.
Two thirds (68%) said that the doctors always washed their hands between touching patients.
Satisfaction varied considerably from trust to trust, however, with 77% of patients at the best performing trust rating their care as excellent, while only 24% in the worst performing trust gave the same rating. On hand washing specifically, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust had the worst record: 22% of patients reported that they had not seen their doctors wash their hands between patients (the average across all trusts was 12%).
Patients were also asked whether they thought that the hospital staff dealt appropriately with any pain they felt, whether they were initially placed in a mixed sex ward, how clean the wards and toilets were, and whether their hospital admission date was altered.
They were asked whether they were able to get help with eating if they needed it. At the lowest scoring trust 42% of patients said they did not receive such help, yet in the highest scoring trust it was 3%.
The survey indicates that some improvements have occurred, although there were still areas where trusts could do better, the commission says. The percentage of patients who said they waited less than four hours to be admitted to a bed from the accident and emergency departments rose from 67% in 2002 and 72% in 2006 to 73% in 2007. Although in 2007 more people said that the quality of the food was very good (19% of respondents, whereas it was 18% in 2002 and 2006), the commission considers that there is still room for improvement.
“Overall, it’s encouraging that a steadily increasing percentage of patients say care is excellent,” said Anne Walker, the commission’s chief executive. “It’s good to see advances on issues like the quality of food, waiting times, and team working between doctors and nurses.
“But the survey also shows that in some hospitals the NHS is struggling to deliver on some of the basics of hospital care. There are striking variations in performance in key areas such as providing single sex accommodation and giving people help when they need it. Those performing poorly must learn from those who perform well.”
The survey results are available at www.healthcarecommission.com.