The inpatient survey in England shows that, over the past nine years, Trusts have seen only a modest improvement in quality of care as judged by patients, says a new report from The King’s Fund and Picker Institute Europe.
The first longitudinal study of patient experience by Trust, Patients’ experience of using hospital services, finds that while overall there have been small improvements in patient experience reported between 2005 and 2013, the results show a tendency towards inertia or regression to the average. However, when this is set against tightening funding since 2010, the fact that patient experience hasn’t deteriorated is reassuring.
The report, co-written by The King’s Fund and Picker Institute Europe, analysed the inpatient survey data for nine years across 156 trusts – accounting for more than half a million inpatients – and found that generally there was a mixed pattern of performance. For most trusts there was positive improvement in some areas and deterioration in others.
• Where there has been a national policy focus, improvements in patient experience can be seen at almost all trusts – for example, in ward cleanliness.
• Where there have been system-wide pressures beyond the hospital, a deterioration in patient experience is often seen – for example, in lengths of wait for a bed after admission to hospital and timely discharge.
The report also shows there is a ‘ceiling effect’ whereby smaller improvements are shown by well-performing Trusts compared to those which started off from a lower baseline. This can partly be explained by relatively high scores to begin with. However, the King's Fund pointed out that it is demotivating for Trusts, which started off well, to hear that year-on-year they are about the same as last year. More needs to be done to find a far more sensitive measure to help Trusts, the organisation asserted. To access the full report, visit:
http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/patients-experience-using-hospital-services
