Hospital’s New Patient Pledge Also Asks For Your Views

Published on: 10 Jul, 2012
Updated on: 10 Jul, 2012

Guildford’s Royal Surrey County Hospital has launched a new patient pledge, promising its patients high quality, safe and compassionate care.

The Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford.

Part of the pledge also encourages patients to give feedback on their hospital experience.

The Royal Surrey’s director of nursing and patient experience, Louise Stead, said: “Our patients’ views are extremely important to us and we want to encourage patients, carers and relatives to tell us about their experience at the hospital.

“The patient pledge is a proactive approach to gathering feedback and explaining what patients should expect from all of our staff.

“Some of the feedback can be hard to hear, but it is rewarding and a real boost for staff to be complimented on the care we provide as well. It is important to take people’s views on board and ensure we act on what we are told.”

The NHS trust participates in regular surveys to find out what patients are saying about the services provided. These include nation inpatient and outpatient surveys and national assessments such as the Patient Environment Action Team (PEAT) and Care Quality Commission (CQC) assessments. There are also surveys for specific groups of patients such as maternity and those being treated for cancer.

The hospital also conducts its own surveys to gather feedback including an e-survey, which is undertaken by volunteers using iPads, and the new feedback e-mail.

Louise Stead added: “We regularly review, report and act upon all these sources of information, as part of our quality and patient experience strategy.

“Feedback can be shared with the relevant departments and wards so that we can take action to improve our patients experience and let staff know what is working well.”

The new patient pledges builds on the trust’s values and behaviours that were launched three years ago.

The Royal Surrey’s chief executive Nick Moberly said: “Our goal as an organisation is to work together to serve our community, delivering safe and excellent clinical care, treating others with compassion and respect, and driving improvement and efficiency.

“Our new patient pledge sets out the key behaviours we aspire to deliver and what our patients can expect from us.”

What are your comments on the services and care offered at our local hospital? Please leave a reply in the box below.