Stoke Mandeville Hospital’s A&E department has been slammed by patients in a recent study.
The NHS Friends and Family test gives patients the opportunity to provide feedback on their local health services.
Respondents are asked whether they would recommend the care they have had to their friends and family in both the A&E and inpatient departments.
The A&E services scored an average of just 12, significantly below the national average of 55.
Meanwhile, the inpatient department fared much better, scoring 75, higher than the UK average of 72.
Bucks Healthcare NHS Trust’s chief operating officer Neil Dardis said: “We are pleased that the majority of patients would recommend our services to their family and friends and that this is higher than the national average.
“It is a concern that there are some patients who would not recommend our A&E department.
“The response rate for A&E is low and we are working hard to encourage more people to complete the test when they use the service so that we can make immediate improvements and take learning from as many experiences as possible.
“We know there is more we need to do to understand the issues and improve the patient experience in A&E.
“Until very recently patients told us that they had to wait longer than they had expected to see a specialist doctor if they were referred urgently to A&E by their GP.
“We have listened to patients feedback and through the creation of the new acute medical unit, which opened in November, these patients are now able to bypass the A&E front door and see a specialist doctor more quickly. This has also helped us to free up capacity in the main A&E department.
“We have embarked on a big conversation with our patients. We are currently holding a number of public events where people can share their views and experiences of local health services.
“Through these events we will be exploring what else the NHS could do to improve the patient experience.”
For more details visit www.buckshealthcare.nhs.uk/abc.
