More outpatients expressing satisfaction at RBCH (From Bournemouth Echo)

More outpatients expressing satisfaction at RBCH

2:55pm Wednesday 3rd March 2010 in

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OUTPATIENTS visiting the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospital are expressing high levels of satisfaction, according to the 2009 survey published in February by the Care Quality Commission.

The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals were rated in the highest scoring 20% of NHS Trusts for, among others:

• Telling patients what they can expect during their appointment

• A clean environment

• The time spent with the doctor, for example the doctor listened, answers to questions that the patient understood, confidence and trust in the doctor and his or her awareness of the patient’s medical history.

The hospitals’ also scored in the top 20% for patients’ overall impression of the Outpatient Department.

This included being treated with dignity and respect, the level of care received and organisation within the Department. Patients also felt that the reason they had an outpatient appointment was dealt with to their satisfaction.

The patient surveys are rated using a traffic light system with a green rating given for hospitals that are in the top (best) 20% and a red rating for those in the bottom (worse) 20%. No red ratings were given by patients visiting the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals and the vast majority of the amber ratings were rated close to the top 20% green rating.

Areas which received a lower amber rating included choice of appointment time, patients receiving copies of letters that were sent between hospital doctor and GP and explanation of the purpose of medicines that were taken home by the patient.

Director of Nursing, Belinda Atkinson, said: “I am delighted by the results of the survey. We are scoring in the top 20% of trusts in a number of key areas which reflects the standard of care patients are receiving in this area.

“On the areas that we scored amber we have only just missed out on a green rating which is very encouraging. We know there are always areas for improvement and these surveys are very useful in reflecting patients’ views to help us identify priorities for further work.”

The Outpatient Department recently became the first in the country to be awarded a Practice Development Unit (PDU) Accreditation. The accreditation was awarded by the School of Health and Social Care at Bournemouth University. It met all 12 of the PDU standards which included communication structure within the department, the partnership between outpatients and its service users, and the personal development plans for Outpatients staff. It is also the first Outpatients Department to adopt the Productive Ward – Releasing Time to Care methodology.