Inpatient Experience Survey 2018: national results

1. Executive Summary

Over 20,000 people took part in the 2018 Inpatient Experience Survey. The survey included a range of questions covering topics such as admission to hospital; the hospital and ward environment; care and treatment; staff; operations and procedures; leaving hospital; and care and support at home. The main results are:

Overall care experiences

• People rated their full inpatient experience very positively, with 86 per cent rating their experience between 7 and 10 on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is "very poor" and 10 is "very good". Thirty-six per cent said that their overall care was "10 out of 10".
• People reported similarly positive experiences to the previous survey, with "overall" ratings showing no statistically significant differences for all but one section of the survey, as shown in Figure 1.1. The exception was experiences of the staff that people came into contact with, which saw a significant increase (by one percentage point) to 91 per cent positive.

Figure 1.1 : Overall positive experiences of care (%)

Admission to Hospital

• People were generally positive about their admission to hospital, with over four out of five (83 per cent) rating it as "excellent" or "good".
• People also rated most aspects of care and treatment they received in the Accident and Emergency Department ( A&E) positively. Almost nine out of ten (89 per cent) were positive about the overall care and treatment they received in A&E and rated it as "excellent" or "good".
• People were least positive about being kept informed about how long they would have to wait to be seen in A&E; 44 per cent were kept completely informed and a further 31 per cent said that they were kept informed "to some extent".

The Hospital and Ward

• People were generally positive about the hospital and ward environment, with 88 per cent rating it as "excellent" or "good".
• In line with previous surveys, when asked about particular aspects of the hospital and ward environment, responses were mixed. People tended to be most positive about cleanliness (96 per cent said that the main ward or room was clean), and least positive about noise (28 per cent were bothered by noise from other patients).
• There has been a continued increase in the percentage of people who were positive about spending time with people who matter to them. Eighty-seven per cent completely agreed that they were able to spend enough time with people who matter, which is an increase of 8 percentage points from 2014.

Care and Treatment in Hospital

• Nine out of ten people were positive about their overall care and treatment whilst in hospital. This percentage is similar to results from previous surveys.
• People were least positive about receiving enough help with eating and drinking (78 per cent positive) which is a six percentage point decrease from 2016.
• On the other hand, 95 per cent of people agreed that they had enough privacy when being examined or treated, which is a slight increase on the 2016 survey.

Staff

• Overall, people were very positive about their experiences of hospital staff, with a slight increase in the overall positive rating to 91 per cent.
• People also mostly agreed that the care that they received from staff was person-centred, although people were slightly less positive about being in control of their treatment (76 per cent agreed), and being able to involve people that matter to them (77 per cent agreed).
• Seventy-eight per cent of people said that they were always treated with compassion and understanding during their hospital stay, which is an increase of four percentage points from 2016. Three per cent said that they were not.
• People were also generally positive about the co-ordination of care whilst in hospital. When asked if staff worked well together in organising care, 72 per cent said "yes, definitely". A further 22 per cent said "yes, to some extent".

Operations and Procedures

• Fifty-nine per cent of people said that they had an operation or procedure during their hospital stay.
• In general, people were very positive about the way that staff communicated with them before and after the operation or procedure. People were most positive about the explanations they received beforehand relating to the risks and benefits; 86 per cent agreed that they were given an explanation they understood, which is four percentage points more than in 2014.
• People were less positive that they had been told how they would feel after the operation or procedure, with 66 per cent agreeing completely that they had. However, the percentage of positive responses to this question has increased five percentage points since the 2014 survey.

Leaving Hospital

• Seventy-eight per cent of people rated the overall arrangements for leaving hospital as "excellent" or "good".
• Thirty per cent of people said that they experienced a delay on the day that they left hospital, which is nine percentage points less than in 2016. The most common length of wait was between 2 and 4 hours.
• The most common reason given for the delay was "waiting for medicines".
• Fifty eight per cent of people agreed completely that they, or their carer, was involved in planning their discharge from hospital, with a further 27 per cent agreeing to some extent.

Care and Support Services

• Of the people who needed care or support services after leaving hospital, 82 per cent were positive about the care and support that they received. This percentage has remained broadly steady over time.
• Sixty-seven per cent of people completely agreed that they were confident that arrangements had been made before they left hospital. A further 21 per cent agreed "to some extent".
• Forty-five percent of people completely agreed that they had a choice in the care or support services arranged for them, with a further 24 per cent agreeing to some extent.