Improvements already underway at NUH as CQC Urgent and Emergency Care Survey highlights patient feedback
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published the results of the 2022 Urgent and Emergency Care Survey today (25 July).
The survey captured the views of people aged 16 and over who used major A&E and Urgent Care Centres at one of the 122 acute NHS Trusts in England during September 2022. The aim of the survey is to find out what people think about their experience of emergency care, with the CQC using results to build an understanding of the quality of services available to patients.
A total of 253 patients who attended the emergency department at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) responded to the survey, with a response rate of 21.19%, just below the national average of 23%.
The survey showed that out of the 37 questions, the results were the same and in line with other Trusts across the country.
The survey showed that the Emergency Department at NUH scored:
- 8.7/10 for the respect and dignity given to patients.
- 7.9/10 for environment and facilities.
- 7.9/10 for the way doctors and nurses cared for them during their time in the emergency department.
- 7.8/10 for the way patients received their test results and had them explained to them.
- 7.4/10 for overall experience.
However the results did identify areas for improvement including waiting times and patients being kept informed of how long they would wait, scoring 4/10 overall in this section. It also highlighted that areas could be improved when patients arrived and left the department, for example, privacy when discussing their condition with a receptionist on arrival and discussing transport arrangements home before they left.
Duane Mclean, Deputy Chief Operating Officer at Nottingham University Hospitals Trust said: “As part of our People First strategy, hospital flow is one of our key priorities at the Trust. Improving the flow of patients through our hospitals helps to make sure that people are not waiting too long to be seen when they visit our emergency department. We know we do not always get this right and that there is more to do, but we are pleased with the overall results of the survey.
“Since the survey was carried out, we have already made a number of improvements within our emergency department, which help to address some of the concerns highlighted.
“We have developed an Urgent and Emergency Care strategy, which focuses on how we can improve flow through the hospital for our patients. Our senior nursing team have also put a robust action plan in place to help with improvement, which includes, ensuring that patients are able to get food and drink within the emergency department, including exploring hot food options and food vouchers for patients. A project is also being explored to help enhance communications with patients and relatives, including making sure patients have understood their treatment plan and condition correctly, particularly if they are speakers of other languages.
“We have also now installed a privacy booth to make it more private for patients when they are booking into the department and talking to our receptionist team and we continue to work on keeping patients updated about their wait times.”
The full results of the National Urgent and Emergency Care Survey can be found here.