Patient experience

UH Bristol Inpatient Experience Survey

At University Hospitals Bristol we believe that receiving feedback from patients about our services is vital if we are to provide excellent care. Using our monthly postal survey of discharged inpatients and maternity service users, both of which are funded by the Above & Beyond charity, we get a view of inpatient experience across our Trust, right down to individual wards. Each month we receive approximately 1000 responses to these surveys - a response rate of around 50%.

The survey data is shared across our organisation. For example, each month our Trust Board receives a patient experience report. This includes progress on key service improvement objectives around noise at night and ensuring patients are given assistance to eat their meals if they need it (see Charts 1 and 2).

In addition, each of our clinical Divisions has set out patient experience improvement objectives, progress against which is measured via the survey. Most of our wards also now have a public display which includes the survey results on key measures.

The Trust Board report also includes two pieces of survey data that are used to assure the senior management team that service standards remain high. Chart 3 shows the proportion of people who would recommend our hospitals based on their experience as an inpatient.

The data in Chart 4 is based on our survey scores for cleanliness, patient involvement in care decisions, treating patients with respect and dignity, and effective staff communication.

If our survey results decline below the threshold shown in these charts for two consecutive months then the Trust Board would start a process of further investigation.