Hospital patients asked for feedback

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew is welcoming a new survey system which will ask hospital patients for their feedback.

“Every three months, 7500 patients will be sent a survey asking about their stay in hospital. The survey will cover everything from whether they were involved in decision-making about their treatment to whether they understood the advice they were given by their doctor,” says Mrs Goodhew.

A random selection of patients from across the country who have spent at least one night in hospital from today and until August 17 will be invited to take part in the first survey. Invitations to take part in the survey will be sent out on August 26th by email, text or letter depending on the patient’s hospital records.

“The survey takes only around six minutes to fill in, and will be anonymised to encourage patients to talk freely about their experiences,” says Mrs Goodhew.

“For the first time, hospitals will be able to receive this feedback as soon as the patient submits it, which means they will be able to respond to issues raised straight away.”

Responses will be collated to give each DHB a rating out of 10 in four areas: coordination, partnership, communication, and physical and emotional needs.

Developed by the Health Quality & Safety Commission, the survey will be the first time hospital patients’ feedback has been collected and measured in the same way across the country.

Some DHBs are also choosing to run surveys fortnightly, instead of quarterly, to give them extra information on their health care.

Results from the first survey will be published in October 2014.

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