More patients are rating the care provided by NHS hospitals as “excellent”, according to data published by the Healthcare Commission. The survey of patients found that 42% of respondents gave their care the top possible rating, up from 38% in 2002, and an increase from 41% in the last survey.
The results also showed that there had been recent improvements in a number of areas that matter to patients, such as:
• A higher percentage of patients said they waited less than four hours to be admitted to a bed from A&E (67% in 2002 compared to 73% in 2007).
• A higher percentage of patients said the quality of food is “very good” (18% in 2002 compared to 19% in 2007), although the Commission said there was still “room for improvement”.
• A lower percentage of patients coming into hospital for a planned admission said they had shared a mixed-sex sleeping area.
