The fifth National Inpatient Experience Survey ends on Friday 12 August across Dublin, including St Vincent’s University and Tallaght University Hospitals. This annual survey — the largest of its kind in Ireland — offers patients the opportunity to share their experiences of healthcare and tell us what is working well and what improvements they believe are necessary. This provides a clear picture of the safety and quality of care in Irish hospitals, as seen through the eyes of patients.
Almost 26,000 patients are eligible to participate in this year’s survey. Since 2017, over 50,100 patients have completed the survey nationally, making over 86,000 comments on the care and treatment they received in hospital. Last year’s response rate of 44% inSt Vincent’s University Hospital and 40% at Tallaght University Hospital, indicates the strong desire of patients to talk about their experiences in hospital in order to bring about meaningful change.
The National Inpatient Experience Survey contains a total of 67 questions on topics such as admission to hospital, care and treatment on the ward, trust in hospital staff, respect and dignity, and care during the pandemic. All patients aged over 16 years-of-age who spent 24 hours or more in hospital and were discharged during the month of May are eligible to participate in the survey.
HIQA’s Director of Health Information and Standards Rachel Flynn said: “I would like to encourage all eligible patients to tell us about their recent experiences of care in St Vincent’s University Hospital and Tallaght University Hospital. By sharing your views, you will provide us with invaluable information on the improvements that are necessary to deliver a more person-centred health service in your area. It is by listening and learning from your experiences that we can bring about effective and sustainable changes across the healthcare sector.”
Carol Mullins, Patient Advice and Liaison Service Manager, at Tallaght University Hospital commented: “We know that outstanding healthcare can only be delivered by continually improving the services that we provide. We welcome the feedback from patients and their families; hearing about their experience strengthens that continuous cycle of improvement that supports the delivery of healthcare in our hospital.”
Cecily Dawson, Director of Operations at St. Vincent’s University Hospital commented: “Patient feedback and the patient’s voice is vital to support planning & delivery of patient-centred care at St. Vincent’s University Hospital. Following feedback received from previous surveys and our GP colleagues, we have made improvements in the information we provide to patients prior to discharge through our new “Discharge Information Booklet” and a dedicated page will be available on the SVUH website with focused discharge information. Over the past year, additional snacks have been made available to in-patients in the evening time, ambulatory patients in ED who are provided a ‘snack pack’ during their wait and also to patients that visit our Oncology Day Centre. Following the survey completion, we look forward to learning from our patients about areas of care can be enhanced to best support our patients during their healthcare journey in our hospital.”
