(13th May 2019) This annual survey — the largest of its kind in Ireland — offers patients the opportunity to share their experiences in hospital and tell us what improvements they believe are necessary. This provides a clear picture of the safety and quality of care in Irish hospitals, as seen through the eyes of patients.
An estimated 28,000 patients will be eligible to participate in this year’s survey, including almost 1,400 patients from Tallaght University Hospital (TUH). Since 2017, over 26,000 patients have completed the survey nationally, making over 40,000 comments on the care and treatment they received in hospital. Last year’s high response rate of almost 49% for Tallaght indicates the strong desire of patients to talk about their experiences in hospital in order to bring about meaningful change.
The National Patient Experience Survey contains a total of 61 questions on topics such as admission to hospital, care and treatment on the ward, trust in hospital staff, respect and dignity, and discharge from hospital. All patients aged over 16 years-of-age who spend 24 hours or more in hospital and are discharged during the month of May are eligible to participate in the survey.
HIQA’s Rachel Flynn visiting TUH, today (Monday), encourages all eligible patients to participate in the survey: “It is important that as many patients as possible tell us about their experiences of care so that we can identify what is working well in our hospitals, and where improvements are needed.
“While a number of positive changes were identified in the second National Patient Experience Survey in 2018, a lot more needs to be done. It is by listening and learning from the experiences of patients that we can bring about effective and sustainable changes across the healthcare sector.”
Lucy Nugent, Chief Executive of TUH, commented: “The annual National Patient Experience Survey provides Tallaght University Hospital with the opportunity to gather very valuable insights and feedback on the healthcare experiences of our patients. It complements the patient feedback mechanisms we have in place throughout the year. The feedback gathered from the experiences of our patients is vital in helping us to improve the quality and care we provide to our patients. I would encourage all eligible patients to participate in this annual survey.”
To find out more about the survey, watch our short animation here. You can also visit our website www.patientexperience.ie and follow us on Twitter @NPESurvey and on Facebook /NPESurvey.
