Dimension: Patient and Family Experience
PATIENT SATISFACTION STUDIES
Rationale for Measurement
The RCSI Hospital Group wishes to provide opportunities for patients and families to engage in relation to their experiences of care. Obtaining this feedback will mean it can be used to improve care for all patients. To enable this, the Hospital Group is working towards a mechanism of capturing the patient’s experience. Participation in the National Patient Experience Survey (NPES) is one of the methods used to collect this data. The NPES Programme is a joint initiative by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Department of Health. NPES did not take place during 2020 due to Covid-19.
Measurement Methodology and Data Sources
All adult patients, with a postal address in the Republic of Ireland, who spent 24 hours or more in one of the 40 participating hospitals and were discharged during May 2019 were asked to complete the survey. In total, 4343 patients of the RCSI Hospital Group were invited to participate in the survey and 1805 completed responses have been returned. Ref: https://www.patientexperience.ie
The final datasets are listed below and have been broken into 5 themes:
- Admissions
- Care on the Ward
- Examination, Diagnosis and Treatment
- Discharge or Transfer
- Overall experience
- RCSI Hospital Group have achieved overall positive patient experience on the themes of Admissions / Care on the Ward / Examinations, Diagnosis and Treatment / and Overall Experience. Theme 4 Discharge or Transfer will form Quality Improvement Plan for Group.
Connolly
- Connolly Hospital has achieved overall positive patient experience on the themes of Admissions / Care on the Ward / Examinations, Diagnosis and Treatment / and Overall Experience. Theme 4 Discharge or Transfer will form Quality Improvement Plan for Connolly Hospital.
Cavan
- Cavan Hospital has achieved overall positive patient experience on the themes of Admissions / Care on the Ward / Examinations, Diagnosis and Treatment / and Overall Experience. Theme 4 Discharge or Transfer will form Quality Improvement Plan for Cavan General.
Drogheda
- Drogheda Hospital has achieved overall positive patient experience on the themes of Admissions / Care on the Ward / Examinations, Diagnosis and Treatment / and Overall Experience. Theme 4 Discharge or Transfer will form Quality Improvement Plan for Drogheda.
Beaumont
- Beaumont Hospital has achieved overall positive patient experience on the themes of Admissions / Care on the Ward / Examinations, Diagnosis and Treatment / and Overall Experience. Theme 4 Discharge or Transfer will form Quality Improvement Plan for Beaumont Hospital.
MATERNITY PATIENT SATISFACTION SURVEYS
Introduction
The National Maternity Experience Survey (NMES) offers eligible new mothers the opportunity to share their experiences of all aspects of Ireland’s maternity services from antenatal through labour and birth to postnatal care. The first National Maternity Experience Survey took place in October and November 2019. The NMES Programme is a joint initiative by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Department of Health.
Rationale for Measurement
Feedback from the NMES will be used to improve the safety and quality of care provided to women and their babies in the RCSI HG.
Measurement Methodology and Data Sources
The NMES included 68 structured, tick-box questions and three open-ended (free-flow) questions. The survey covered the full pathway of maternity care — from antenatal care, through labour and birth, to postnatal care in the community. Women aged 16 or over who gave birth in October or November 2019 and had a postal address in the Republic of Ireland were invited to participate in the NMES.
The final datasets are listed below and have been broken into 7 themes:
- Antenatal Care – Experiences of the type of maternity care offered and chosen, information provided and communication with healthcare professionals in the antenatal care period
- Labour and Birth – Experiences of interactions with healthcare professionals, pain management and involvement in decisions during labour and when giving birth
- Care after Birth – Experiences in hospital, such as the support and assistance provided by staff, and information provided on care and recovery
- Specialised Care – Experiences of support in the neonatal unit and overall ratings of the care received by the baby while in the unit
- Feeding – Experiences of receiving information and support from healthcare professionals on feeding the baby
- Care at Home – Experiences of support and advice from GPs and public health nurses while at home after the birth
- Overall Experience
Cavan General Hospital
- Cavan has demonstrated above national average standards in 6/6 themes
Drogheda Hospital
- Drogheda has demonstrated above national average standards in 5/6 themes
Rotunda Hospital
- Rotunda has demonstrated above national average standards in 5/6 themes
RCSI Hospital Group
- the patient feedback received for RCSI Hospital Group has demonstrated the highest level of patient satisfaction in the National Maternity Experience Survey 2020
Rationale for measurement
- Patient complaints have been identified as a valuable resource for monitoring and improving patient safety.
- RCSI HG staff work hard to get everything right first time, but understand that not all patients may be happy with service provision and that problems can occur. However if staff can get their response to complaints right in terms of explanation of problem experienced and efforts introduced to prevent further reoccurrence, then patients effected are less likely to be unhappy and equally important future problems can be prevented.
Measurement methodology and data sources
- Local data set from monthly hospital performance metrics. No national data.
Target
- 75% of complaints investigated and response sent to the complainant within 35 days.
Performance
RCSI Hospital Group
- RCSI Hospital Group are collating % of all complaints responded to within 35 working days
- national data excludes complaints which relate solely to Clinical Judgement, therefore comparison is not possible
Rationale for measurement
Parliamentary Questions (PQs) can be posed by any members of the Oireachtas and provide Ministers with regular opportunities to report publicly on matters for which they are responsible. There is a statutory requirement for all state bodies to respond in full to all referred PQs within a maximum of 10 working days as per Dáil Éireann Standing Orders relative to Public Business 2016, section 41(A).
Representations (Reps) can be posed by any members of the Oireachtas and concern individual patients and operational matters relating to local issues.
The national response target for Reps is 15 days as per DPER Circular 25/2016.
Measurement methodology and data sources
- Compliance % with <10 working days
- HSE National database
- RCSI Hospital Group database
Target
- RCSI Hospital Group set target is <10 days. National PQ response target is <10 days for response letter to be issued.
- National Rep response target is <15 days for response letter to be issued. RCSI Hospital Group set target is <10 days
Performance
RCSI Hospital Group Performance
- Parliamentary Affairs Division (PAD) ceased reporting national data in Dec 2019
- RCSI Hospital Group merged PQs and REPs and introduced target of <10 days in March 2020
