95% of Vhi Customers treated in Private Hospitals and 88% treated in Public Hospitals have Positive Hospital Experience
Communication and privacy were areas of concern for patients
Vhi launches findings of Patient Experience Survey
4th December 2017 – Vhi’s Patient Experience Survey published today shows our customers believe that although Irish hospitals are performing very well overall, there is room for improvement. The aim of the research is to provide clear, measurable indicators of the care received by patients in hospitals and to highlight where improvements can be made. The survey has been run on a pilot basis since 2016 and this is the fourth patient experience survey commissioned by Vhi.
The key findings of the research are:
Inpatient Experience in Private & Public Hospitals
- 95% of those who attended a private hospital and 81% of those who attended a public hospital rated their experience overall as being 7/10 or greater.
- Admission to hospital was very organised for 91% of patients treated in private hospitals compared to 68% of those who were treated in public hospitals.
- 90% of those discharged from private hospitals and 83% of those discharged from public hospitals felt that doctors and nurses spent enough time explaining about health and care at home.
- 86% of those in private hospitals said they always got clear answers to questions from doctors compared to 78% for those in public hospitals.
- 87% of those in private hospitals always had confidence in the decisions made about their care and treatment compared to 77% of those in public hospitals.
- Comfort and cleanliness scored well in both public and private hospitals. 100% of those in private hospitals stated their room was fairly or very clean as did 97% of those in public hospitals.
Day Case Patient Experience in Private & Public Hospitals
- 96% of patients who attended a private hospital and 91% who attended a public hospital rated their experience as being 7/10 or greater
- 92% of those discharged from private hospitals and 89% of those discharged from public hospitals felt that doctors and nurses spent enough time explaining about health and care at home.
- 93% of those in private hospitals and 88% in public hospitals thought they were always treated with respect or dignity.
Communication featured strongly as an area for improvement.
- Only 64% of inpatients in private hospitals and 50% of inpatients in public hospitals felt there was enough opportunity for family to speak to a doctor during their treatment.
- 70% of inpatients in private hospitals and 55% of inpatients in public hospitals felt their family were given enough information to help their recovery.
- 67% of inpatients discharged from private hospitals and 60% of inpatients from public hospitals felt they were fully told of danger signals to look for.
- Only 66% of inpatients in public hospitals compared to 86% of inpatients in private hospitals felt there was enough privacy when discussing their condition or treatment
Commenting on the findings, Dr Bernadette Carr, Medical Director, Vhi, stated “Research shows that there is a link between patient experience and clinical safety and effectiveness. We want to encourage the delivery of better care and advocate for an improved health system that produces quality health outcomes for our customers. By measuring patient experience we can identify strengths and weaknesses across hospitals, drive quality improvement and provide valuable information to our customers to help inform their care choices.
She continued “The high level of patient engagement and interest in the survey from our customers indicates to us that our customers are very interested in this type of data. We will conduct the patient experience survey three times a year and our intention is to feedback the key learnings to the hospitals in question with a view to helping them improve in areas where needed.“
Vhi commissioned this survey, which was carried out by Picker * to gain valuable information and insights into our customers experiences following an inpatient or daycase admission to a public or private hospital. The survey gathered data on Vhi customers’ experiences in relation to communication, care co-ordination, physical comfort, continuity of care and discharge.
826 inpatients and 2835 daycase patients responded to the survey about their hospital experience. The survey sample consisted of Vhi customers discharged from both private and public hospitals between March 2017 and August 2017 who had a healthcare claim paid by Vhi.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
Vhi inpatients breakdown |
Vhi Ambulatory / Day Case |
826 patients 47% male & 53% female 62% private hospitals 38% public hospitals 60% were planned procedures 35% emergency or urgent 5% stated something else 16% aged 18 – 39 30% aged 40 – 59 28% aged 60 – 69 25% aged 70+ |
2835 patients 53% male & 47% female 77% private hospitals 23% public hospitals 7% aged 18 -39 33% aged 40 – 59 31% aged 60 – 69 28% aged 70+ |
- Picker is an internationally renowned healthcare research charity
Vhi_Press
04-Dec-2017