Galway University Hospitals welcomes the publication of the National Inpatient Experience Survey 2024

The results of the National Inpatient Experience Survey, carried out in all public hospitals in Ireland in May, have been published. This is the sixth year that the survey has been carried out and was an opportunity for patients of Galway University Hospitals to describe their experiences in hospital.

Welcoming the findings, Chris Kane, Hospital Manager said, “The findings of the survey provide us with important insights into patients’ perspectives of how they experienced treatment in our hospital and what improvements are needed to our services. It highlights the importance of our patient’s voice to improve services from their perspective and this has been a feature since 2017 when the first survey was carried out.

“We are very pleased that the majority of participants from Galway University Hospitals reported positive experiences in hospital. 89% of participants said they had a ‘good’ to ‘very good’ overall experience. Patients rated the ‘care on the ward’ at 8.4 out of 10 which is above the national average of 8.0.

Areas where patients identified good experiences included patients stating; when they had important questions to ask a doctor, they always got answers that they could understand; they definitely felt they had enough time to discuss their care and treatment with a doctor; and felt that there was always good communication about their care and treatment between hospital staff.

Some of the areas where patients identified as needing improvement included; patients who wanted to give feedback or make a complaint, did not know how or where to do so; and some said they did not get enough information from the hospital on how to manage their condition after discharge.

“We are using the results of this survey to help us prioritise quality improvements for the coming year. And as part of our improvement plan in the areas needing improvement for example the feedback and complaints process, we will arrange to have a QR code or alternative option to provide feedback and complaints, added to ‘Your Service Your Say’ and include details of the Patient Advice Liaison Service (PALS) at GUH. We recently updated the Patient Information Leaflets to include a QR code which links directly to the HSE comments and feedback form. We will review the 2023 business cards developed by quality patient safety (QPS) for feedback.

“We will also engage with our patient experience multidisciplinary team and patients’ representatives committee about our quality improvement plan, and emphasise at Clinical Nurse Management monthly meetings the importance of ensuring the patient knows the process for giving feedback and/or how to make a complaint.

“Additionally, we will include education and feedback to ward staff at monthly meetings/handover/safety pauses at ward level about the national inpatient experience survey and raise awareness in supporting patient engagement around giving feedback and how to make a complaint.

“In relation to the feedback where patients stated they did not get enough information around how to manage their condition after discharge, we will work to ensure that each patient receives the correct amount of information they need on discharge and that our patients are proactively included in their plans around discharge and the supports available to them in the community.

“We also have a process in place that ensures the patient receives the correct amount of information they need on discharge and that our Health and Social Care Professionals and Nursing staff proactively discuss patient conditions during acute stay and on discharge.”

“I would like to thank all the patients who took part in the survey and the staff who encouraged and facilitated it.”

As stated in the survey results for Galway University Hospitals, one patient commented, “The doctors were very caring and easy to talk to, and explained answers to my questions in a manner I could understand.”

Tony Canavan, Regional Executive Officer HSE West and North West said, “Through this survey our patients have provided us with really valuable feedback on their experience of care in our hospitals. I want to thank them for taking the time to do so. It is their engagement that allows us to further strengthen and improve our services. I would also like to thank our staff who support and encourage our patients to participate in this survey and for their commitment to providing good quality, patient-centered care. They are committed to making improvements for our patients.

“This survey allows us to engage with our patients and learn from and embed areas we are doing well in and also highlight areas we could do better in. The 2024 results showed that 84% of patients across our hospitals had a positive experience of care and this is something we are very proud of. We will continue to develop and introduce initiatives in response to areas where our patient’s feedback has not been satisfactory.”