Hospital to take part in national patient survey
WEXFORD General Hospital will again this year participate in the National Patient Experience Survey.
The 2018 survey is part of a broader programme to help improve the quality and safety of healthcare services provided to patients in Ireland.
The survey tries to understand how patients interact with the healthcare system and how they experience this process. It will help establish what is working well in our hospitals and what needs to be improved.
All inpatients discharged from Wexford General Hospital during May 2018 will be invited to participate in this survey.
Lily Byrnes, Hospital Manager at Wexford General Hospital said: ‘The results of the 2017 survey provided us with a rich source of information to help improve hospital care. We used the results to develop quality improvement plans, which outlined how patients’ priorities are being addressed.
‘Key findings for Wexford General Hospital in the 2017 survey included: 85 per cent of patients rated their overall experience of the hospital as good to very good, 93 per cent said they were always or sometimes treated with dignity and respect and 81 per cent rated their experience of examination, diagnosis and or treatment as ‘very good’ or ‘good’.
‘Patients gave very positive responses in relation to the level of privacy afforded to them while being examined or treated in the Emergency Department and patients in general had confidence and trust in the staff treating them. Positive feedback was also received with regard to hospital food ratings which were rated above the national average.’
She said a number of areas for improvement were identified and these included communication around diagnosis and test results, and the patient discharge and transfer process.
‘The National Patient Experience Survey results have given us a clear insight into the patient’s experiences in our hospital and assist us in understanding what matters to patients’, said Ms Byrnes. ‘It confirms for us the importance of working in partnership with our patients, their carers, our staff and communities. Even small changes can lead to improved patient safety and wellbeing.’
In response to last year’s survey findings, Wexford General Hospital has developed a quality improvement plan - Listening, Responding and Improving - and to date the hospital has implemented a number of initiatives or projects to improve patients’ experience, including: Information leaflets for patients on discharge have been updated to include more information on what to expect and who to contact in the hospital on discharge; Nurse Managers are working with medical teams and scheduling ward rounds to ensure that a member of the nursing team is present to improve information sharing about the patient’s condition and plan of care; The patient’s discharge prescription has been updated to now include a section which outlines changes to the patient’s medication during their hospital stay.
Ms Byrnes said: ‘Wexford General Hospital wishes to encourage patients to once again participate in this year’s survey. Their feedback is very important to us and provides us with important information on how we can continue to improve patient care and build on positive patient experience.’
Visit www.patientexperience.ie for more information.
“Positive feedback was received with regard to hospital food ratings”