Better opportunities to share their views, lack of trust in some doctors and a need to improve food.
These were some of the views of patients in Norfolk asked about their experience staying in the county’s hospitals.
Healthwatch Norfolk conducted an analysis of a recently published study by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) into how patients felt they were looked after.
The CQC had gauged the views of patients at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, the James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston, and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn, as part of a national study.
The idea was to give a snapshot of what people were saying about each hospital.
You can find a copy of the Healthwatch Norfolk analysis here
The key findings were:
Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital
Patients ranked it 8 out of 10 for their experience, a rise from the previous year’s 7.8.
It scored poorly for gathering patient feedback compared to other hospitals getting 2.5 out of 10, lower than the 3.6 national average and it got the 8th worst score in the country.
It also got feedback scores lower than the national average for hospital food (6.2), noise from other patients making sleep difficult, and the perception not enough nurses were on duty.
There was positive feedback around the arrangements made for patients being discharged with a rating of 8.6, 0.4 above the national average.
The James Paget University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
The hospital got an overall rating of 8.3 out of 10, a drop of 0.1 from the previous year but the highest rating in Norfolk of all three hospitals. It did receive a lower than the national average score (5.7) for time people felt they waited before their admission to hospital.
The hospital got higher ratings than average in categories including providing opportunities to leave feedback (4.5), food quality (7.8) and planning for hospital discharge and the equipment needed (8.2).
Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Overall, the hospital scored 7.8 out of 10 for the overall experience of patients which is the same as its score for the previous year.
The discharge of patients was scored at just 6.5, the 11th lowest in the country and 1 below the national average.
Patients felt they were not given enough notice of their discharge, what they should or should not do when they left hospital, and who to contact if they had concerns.
It also scored 8.6 for trust and confidence in doctors and 6.8 around the number of nurses on duty, which were both below the national average.
Reaction
Alex Stewart, Healthwatch Norfolk chief executive, said: “We felt it was important to spend time going through this survey and make sure patients were aware of the findings.
“Our report is based on data that was gathered last year so we appreciate work may have been done in each of the hospitals to address the low scores in some areas.
“Having said that, we will keep this survey in mind when we are visiting all three hospitals to get feedback.
“We would also urge patients to share their experiences of hospital stays with us face-to-face, by phone and online so we can work with senior NHS leaders and frontline staff to ensure the people of Norfolk get the best care possible.”
