The second National Patient Experience Survey, published today, has shown that 86% of patients attending Letterkenny University Hospital were happy with their experience.
The findings across the Saolta University Health Care Group show above average positive findings for the Group as a whole in many areas.
Management at Letterkenny University Hospital welcomed the results of the survey noting that the majority of patients at the hospital reported a positive experience in the hospital.
86% of participants said they had ‘good’ or ‘very good’ overall experiences compared with 84% nationally. 388 people completed the survey following their discharge from LUH in May this year.
The survey identified several areas of good experience, including patients feeling that they could discuss their worries and fears with staff, they were given enough privacy when discussing their care and treatment and most patients reported feeling that were always treated with dignity and respect while in hospital.
Some of the area highlighted in the survey for improvement included some patients reporting challenges understanding the information provided by their doctors and they felt they didn’t have sufficient time to discuss their care and treatment with their doctors.
The provision of the right amount of information to patients about their condition or treatment was also raised. Some patients also expressed concern about the length of time they waited in the Emergency Department for admission to hospital.
Commenting Sean Murphy, General Manager Letterkenny University Hospital said, “This year, we are again very pleased with the overall results of the National Patient Experience Survey at Letterkenny University Hospital. We are particularly glad to note that so many of our patients reported positive experiences of the care received on the wards in LUH. 85% of patients felt that they were always treated with respect and dignity while in the hospital. 94% of patients said there were always or sometimes given the privacy they needed to discuss their care and treatment with their doctors and 87% stated that a staff member was available to discuss their worries or concerns.
“Many of the comments from patients in the report highlighted their positive experiences and spoke of the really good care provided to them by LUH staff. I am very proud of the commitment and care that our staff demonstrate and I am delighted to see their work acknowledged in many parts of this survey.
“While there are many positives in the results of the patient survey I know that there are areas where we need to improve. Many patients continue to wait unacceptable lengths of time in our Emergency Department and remain on waiting lists to access treatment.
“Improving waiting times for patients remains one of the highest priorities for hospital management, second only to ensuring safe patient care. We will be using the results of this survey to address the quality issues raised in this important patient feedback. We would like to thank all the patients who took part in the survey and the staff who encouraged and facilitated it.”
Maurice Power, Group CEO Saolta University Health Care Group said this is the second National Patient Experience Survey and he is very pleased that again the feedback from patients across the Saolta Group has been very positive.
“We worked hard over the last six months to implement the improvements highlighted in last year’s survey and many patient-focused improvement projects have taken place across each of the Group’s six hospitals. This year’s survey again, gives us a very important insight into the experience of our patients and we will continue to work to make their hospital experience a better one.”
Background
The National Patient Experience Survey is a nationwide survey that offers patients the opportunity to describe their experiences of public acute healthcare in Ireland. The survey is a partnership between HIQA, the HSE and the Department of Health. The survey was conducted for the first time in 2017 and repeated in 2018. The aim of the survey is to find out about patients’ experiences in public hospitals and use their feedback to identify areas of good experience, and areas needing improvement.
The full reports can viewed here https://www.patientexperience.ie/
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