Have your say to help shape health services of the future
Hospital chiefs in South Tyneside are aiming to make it easier for people to have their say over their experiences of the care they received, by inviting patients to feedback virtually.
South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust gathers feedback from patients, their families and carers in a wide number of ways – including using the Friends and Family Test – a quick and anonymous way for people to provide feedback on NHS services.
The short paper survey was launched in 2013 and is given out to anyone using Trust services.
Due to Covid-19, paper copies of the survey were stopped as part of a range of measures to reduce the spread of the virus.
The Trust has now moved the Friends and Family Tes to its website and is encouraging people to share their experiences and help to shape services for the future. Melanie Johnson, executive director of nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals at the Trust, said: “We want everyone who uses our services to have the best possible experience and the feedback we receive from patients vital for us to understand what we are doing well and where we need to make improvements.
"We gather feedback from patients in lots of different ways, but The Friends and Family Test is a simple and effective measure of how a patient feels about their experience of care and is a recognised survey that is used across the NHS.”
“The pandemic has brought a lot of challenges and pressures to NHS services, but we cannot lose sight of our need to continuously learn and innovate. That’s why I would urge anyone who has received care in our hospitals or accessed our services in the community to take a few minutes to visit the website and complete the short questionnaire.
"People’s feedback really will influence how we do things going forward and there is no better way to understand how to improve patient experience than by listening to them directly.”
Anyone who has used hospital or community services provided by South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust can complete Friends and Family Test.
The survey can be found on the Trust website at www. stsft.nhs.uk/patients-andvisitors/share-your-feedback/ friends-and-family-test.