The Care Quality Commission has released its annual survey of people who stayed as an inpatient in hospital.
Findings show that most people had confidence in the doctors and nurses treating them and felt that staff answered their questions clearly.
However, across the majority of questions asked in the survey there has been no improvement since it was last carried out, and this year’s results show an increase in those reporting lengthy delays, greater dissatisfaction with the amount of information provided when leaving hospital, and those who felt a lack of involvement in their care.
Source: www.cqc.org.uk
The reports states:
“The involvement of patients in decisions regarding their discharge from hospital continues to be a key area for improvement in patient-centred care. Seventeen per cent of respondents said they did not feel they were involved in decisions about their discharge compared to 16% in 2017. There have been no improvements in this area in 10 years.
Data shows that at the time of being discharged, significant proportions of patients were not sufficiently informed of their discharge plans. Fifteen per cent of respondents said they did not receive enough notice about when they were going to be discharged and 18% said they did not know what would happen next with their care when they left the hospital. The situation has been deteriorating slightly but significantly since 2017.
The proportion of respondents saying that their discharge was delayed remained high (41%) and similar to 2017, despite the data showing that the number of DToC decreased when comparing July 2018 and July 2017.a However, data used by the NHS to measure DToC is based on a monthly average of days, while the data from the adult inpatient survey reflect patient’s perception of delay. Discharge delays can negatively impact health outcomes, especially older patients whose long-term mobility can be reduced as a result of not being active during prolonged hospital stays. Other negative outcomes include a higher risk of infection and decline in a person’s ability to undertake key daily activities.”
On patient experience and complaints:
“Only 15% of respondents said that they had been asked to give their views on the quality of their care during their stay compared to 20% in 2017. This was also visible in the decrease in the proportion of patients saying they saw or were given information explaining how to complain about the care they had received, which decreased from 26% in 2017 to 19% in 2018. This is the lowest since the question was introduced in the adult inpatient survey in 2012.”
“Results from the survey show a decline in patients’ perceived ability to give their views. Only 15% of respondents said that they had been asked to give their views on the quality of their care during their stay, compared to 20% in 2017.”
Read the full report