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First 'friends and family' ratings published First 'friends and family' ratings published
(about 1 hour later)
Patients in 36 hospital wards in England would not recommend them to relatives, according to a new test. Patients on 36 of 4,500 hospital wards in England would not recommend them to relatives, according to a new survey.
The first results of the "friends and family" survey also saw one English A&E department get a "negative score" - at Chase Farm Hospital in north London. The latest results of the new "friends and family" test saw one English A&E department out of 144 get a "negative score" - Chase Farm Hospital in London.
The scheme, backed by the prime minister, asks patients if they would recommend the ward they were treated in to those close to them. The questionnaire, backed by the prime minister, asks patients if they would recommend the ward they were treated on to those close to them.
Critics say the scheme is too blunt an instrument to provide useful data.Critics say the scheme is too blunt an instrument to provide useful data.
The data comes from 400,000 people who stayed in hospital overnight, or attended A&E, in April, May and June.
David Cameron hailed the test as a simple way of getting patient feedback which could act as a warning that care needed improving, even down to individual wards.
The question asked is: "How likely are you to recommend our ward/A&E department to your friends and family if they needed similar care or treatment?"The question asked is: "How likely are you to recommend our ward/A&E department to your friends and family if they needed similar care or treatment?"
There are plans to further expand the test to maternity services in October, and to GP practices, community services and mental health services by the end of 2014, then to all parts of the NHS by the end of March 2015. About 400,000 people who stayed in hospital overnight, or attended A&E, in April, May and June, responded to the survey.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the introduction of the friends and family test was an "historic" move for the NHS. Out of 4,500 wards in England, 36 received an overall negative figure in June, although response rates in some hospitals were very low.
"This milestone moment is a key plank in our wider campaign to make sure that patients' voices are heard at every level of the NHS." In A&E, one hospital out of 144 received a negative score in the same month (Chase Farm in north London).
The friends and family test began nationally in April, after a year of pilots in the Midlands and east of England. The test is seen as central to the government's response to the Mid Staffordshire inquiry.
The questionnaire is seen as central to the government's response to the Mid Staffordshire inquiry. Tim Kelsey, NHS England's director of patients and information, said direct patient and citizen feedback was vital to improving services the NHS provides.
Tim Kelsey, NHS England's director of patients and information, said no other health service in the world had invited patients to give feedback on such a scale. "From this first publication, we can see a significant and real variation in the quality of customer services across the NHS," he said.
A "transformation in the quality of customer service in health and care" was needed, he told The Daily Telegraph. "There are home truths here and everyone will expect those trusts who have large numbers of their patients choosing not to recommend their services to respond as quickly as possible."
"Today we will learn some home truths about the NHS: some trusts will be surprised by the number of patients who would not recommend their services, and they will need to take a long hard look at how they can quickly transform their customer experience." However, he said it was important that this "early data" was treated carefully.
He added: "Low response rates can have a dramatically disproportionate impact on scores. As more and more patients respond, the data will become more and more robust."
'Blunt instrument''Blunt instrument'
But Jocelyn Cornwell, director of the Point of Care Foundation, an independent charity working with health and social care organisations, said: "Collecting feedback is really important, but I think the question patients are asked doesn't make sense.
"Some hospitals were using much better methods of collecting feedback. But they've had to abandon what they were doing and replace it with this rather blunt instrument.
"Also, we know that patients are more likely to be positive when they're in hospital than when they're at home.
"There are good reasons for that - people feel vulnerable in hospital and worry that if they say something negative, it will rebound on them."
Peter Lynn, professor of survey methodology at the University of Essex, said he was concerned that differences in scores between trusts or between wards may, in some cases, be misleading.Peter Lynn, professor of survey methodology at the University of Essex, said he was concerned that differences in scores between trusts or between wards may, in some cases, be misleading.
"This can arise because the rather simplistic methodology used to collect the data makes no allowance for differences between trusts or wards in types of patients, types of treatments, or the proportions or types of patients who provide an answer. "This can arise because the rather simplistic methodology used to collect the data makes no allowance for differences between trusts or wards in types of patients, types of treatments, or the proportions or types of patients who provide an answer," he said.
"Additionally, variation was allowed between trusts in the way the test was administered. Although the objective is only to shine a light on poorer-performing trusts, the concern is that the light may not be shining in the right places. The methodology of this test really should be improved.""Additionally, variation was allowed between trusts in the way the test was administered. Although the objective is only to shine a light on poorer-performing trusts, the concern is that the light may not be shining in the right places. The methodology of this test really should be improved."
Jocelyn Cornwell, director of the Point of Care Foundation, an independent charity working with health and social care organisations, said: "Collecting feedback is really important, but I think the question patients are asked doesn't make sense.
"Some hospitals were using much better methods of collecting feedback. But they've had to abandon what they were doing and replace it with this rather blunt instrument."
The friends and family test began nationally in April, after a year of pilots in the Midlands and east of England.
There are plans to further expand the test to maternity services in October, and to GP practices, community services and mental health services by the end of 2014, then to all parts of the NHS by the end of March 2015.