Island patients felt that they were treated with respect and dignity whilst at St Mary’s Hospital according to the national patient survey results published by the Healthcare Commission this week.

The Survey, which went out across the country, asked patients about the care and treatment they received during their stay in hospital, from their admission through to discharge.

Overall the results for the Island’s PCT have improved considerably compared with previous years, with improvements seen in 37 areas, putting the Trust in the top 20% of the best performing Trusts across the country. 95% of patients considered their care to be good/very good or excellent.

505 patients on the Isle of Wight completed the survey, the results showed the following (figures in brackets denote previous figures 2005 where the data is available):

Admission to hospital

• 100% (97%) of patients felt the ambulance crew were reassuring
• 94% (91%) felt that the crew explained their care and treatment in a way they could understand

Emergency Department

• 99% (98%) of patients felt they were given enough privacy whilst being examined or treated
• 97% (73%) felt that the order in which the patients were seen was fair
• Whilst the majority of patients felt that they were given the right amount of information, 28% felt that they did not receive enough or any information about their condition or treatment

All types of admission

• 95% (92%) of patients reporting that the room or ward was very/fairly clean
• 65% (65%) felt that the admission process was very organised

Doctors and Nurses

• 97% of patients reported that they had confidence and trust in the doctors and nurses treating them
• 12% of patients felt that there was rarely enough nurses on duty

Leaving Hospital

• 91% (89%) felt that staff explained the purpose of the medicines that they took home however 23% (40%) felt that were not given clear written information about their medicines
• Whilst the majority of patients knew who to contact if they were worried about their condition, 32% (34%) were not told

The Trust needs to address delayed discharges with 43% of patients saying that their discharge was delayed. The main reason for the delay was waiting for medicines and action has already been taken to address this.

Ed Macalister-Smith, Chief Executive said

“Finding out how patients view the care they receive is key to bringing about improvements in how we deliver healthcare on the Island. I am delighted to see an overall improvement, these results reflect the hard work that has been undertaken in the last year, however, I acknowledge that we will not get all aspects of the service right every time and this survey has identified areas where we still have work to do”.