Ireland’s first ever national patient experience survey gets underway
Ireland's first ever national patient experience survey is getting underway this month and affords adult acute hospital inpatients a chance to describe their experiences and inform improvements in our health service.
UL Hospitals Group is delighted to be part of this joint initiative between the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), the HSE and the Department of Health.
Commencing on May 1st 2017, all adult patients who are discharged from a public acute hospital during this month will be invited to participate in the survey. Up to 27,000 patients nationally will be eligible to take part, making this the largest single survey of the healthcare system in Ireland.
In excess of 2,000 of these patients will be asked to describe their experiences in University Hospital Limerick, Ennis Hospital, Nenagh Hospital, St John’s Hospital and Croom Orthopaedic Hospital. Maternal health and paediatric services do not come under the ambit of the current survey and, accordingly, patients discharged from University Maternity Hospital Limerick will not be participating.
Patients will be asked 61 questions on topics such as confidence and trust in hospital staff, hospital food, care and treatment, and whether their medications and possible side-effects were explained before discharge from hospital.
Speaking as the survey was launched, Minister for Health Simon Harris said: “I am delighted to welcome this significant new patient safety innovation to our healthcare service. This joined-up approach between my Department, the HSE and HIQA is a concrete sign of the commitment all of us – policy makers, service providers and regulators – have to improving the quality and the safety of our health services for patients. This survey will identify areas for improvement providing a direct focus for changes required.
'I am also confident that through this survey we will discover many examples of good practice, which can be shared across the country. Capturing these important messages is vital for patients, hospital managers and, not least, for the staff providing the care in our hospitals. My Department is fully committed to patient safety, and to this end I launched a new National Patient Safety Office last year, which has already commenced a programme of patient safety policy and legislation,” the Minister concluded.
Prof Colette Cowan, CEO, UL Hospitals Group, said: “There are a number of ways in which patients can and do give us feedback on our services. We continuously refine our services on the basis of what our patients have said. But we can always do more and I am delighted that the voice of our patients will be listened to as part of the national patient experience survey. This is the most comprehensive exercise of its type ever attempted in Ireland and we can be confident that the sound methodology and robust, evidence-based approach underpinning it will deliver real benefits for our patients in the years to come. I am appealing to our patients and their families to maximise participation in this survey to drive quality improvement across the system.'
Miriam McCarthy, Patient Advocacy and Liaison Services Manager, added: “This is a wonderful opportunity for patients to give us feedback on their hospital experience, what went well and what could be improved upon. Our involvement with this national survey will give us a very valuable insight into the patient’s journey through our hospitals, and allow on-going improvements to be made so that patients have the best experience possible.
'The feedback we receive from our patients in UL Hospitals will be vital is helping improve and develop the health services provided here. Every opinion counts so please complete the survey if you are invited to do so.”
Evidence from other countries suggests that learning from the experience of patients is the best way to improve health outcomes. Patients become engaged, active and informed about their care. Service providers benefit as areas for improving patient care in individual units are identified, assurance in the quality of care is provided, and care can be benchmarked.
All survey responses will be combined to produce a national report on patients’ experience, as well as hospital group reports to improve the planning and delivery of our health service. Further information about the survey can be found at www.patientexperience.ie.