Inpatient care at St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust continues to improve
The 2012 Care Quality Commission (CQC) survey of adult inpatients has shown that St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has maintained and built on its improvements to inpatient care.
The national inpatient survey is an important indicator of how all NHS trusts in the country are performing, and the 2012 survey looked at the experiences of patients who were admitted to hospital for at least one night.
This year’s survey rates St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as ‘about the same’ as most other trusts in the country for all 70 questions. Specifically there were six areas where the trust has improved significantly from their results last year:
- More patients felt their room or ward was clean
- More patients were encouraged to give their views on the quality of care they received
- More patients felt they received clear answers from the questions they asked nursing staff
- A choice of food was given to more patients
- More patients thought staff were clear in the advice they gave and did not contradict each other
- Fewer patients reported nurses talked in front of them as if they were not there
Alison Robertson, chief nurse and director of operations, said: “The results of this year’s survey show we have successfully maintained, and in some cases built upon the improvements we have made in inpatient care.
“In 2009 the trust was ranked in the lowest 20 per cent of all trusts in the country for almost half of the survey questions. For 2012, we have consolidated our significantly better results.
“This would not have been possible without the continued hard work and dedication of our staff, which reflects the huge progress we have made in three years.
“While we are pleased with these results, we should also use the opportunity to focus on additional areas which will improve the patient experience. Feedback from our patients is fundamental in helping us to identify where we need to do better.”
Notes to editors
For more information and for high resolution photography, please contact the Communications Unit on 020 8725 5151 or email: communications@stgeorges.nhs.uk. Outside working hours, please page us by calling 0844 822 2888, leaving a short message and contact details for pager SG548. High res photos available on request.
