Inpatient experience survey 2016, volume 3: exploring differences in experience

Results - Admission To Hospital

Summary

The survey results show that 82 per cent of people were positive about their overall admission to hospital and 88 per cent were positive about the overall care and treatment they had received in A&E.

All the characteristics investigated except religion, indicated a significant impact on the differences seen in responses relating to people's experience in A&E with older people and males tending to be more positive.

People who attended hospital as a planned admission were significantly more positive regarding the overall admission experience.

People who had an operation whilst in hospital were significantly more positive regarding their overall care and treatment in A&E and any information received prior to attending hospital but were significantly more negative regarding the length of time between being referred and being admitted to hospital.

A&E

Seven of the survey questions relate to people's experience in A&E. Differences in responses for experience are significant by age, self-reported general health and gender for almost all of these questions. Religion is the only characteristic investigated which does not show any difference in experience in A&E (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Number of questions affected by various characteristics - A&E

All characteristics related to these questions are detailed in Table 2. In general, males were significantly more positive in their experiences than females, as were people who self-reported that their health was good compared to poor or fair. A mixed picture is seen for the age variable with people aged over 45, in general, being significantly more positive than younger people.

Table 2: Significant response compared to reference group - A&E

Question	Positive	Negative
Kept informed about how long to wait to be seen	Emergency admission; Age 55-75+; Males; Remote rural area, Community and General hospitals	Age 25-34; Fair and poor health; Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Other; Need an interpreter
Once seen, kept informed about what was happening	Age 35-75+; Males	Poor health; Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Other
Told how long there would be to wait	Age 45-74; Males; Remote rural area; General hospitals	Fair and poor health; Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Other
Told what was happening in a way you could understand	Had an operation; Age 45-64; Males; Long term health condition; General hospitals	Fair and poor health; Learning disability; Day-to-day activity limited a lot; Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Other; Non-white
Given enough privacy when being examined or treated	Age 45-75+; Males	Fair and poor health; Need an interpreter; SIMD 2, SIMD 5
Felt safe	Age 65-75+; Other urban, remote small town and remote rural areas	Long term health condition; Day-to-day activity limited a lot; Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Other; Need an interpreter
Overall rating the care and treatment received	Had an operation; Age 45-75+; Males	Poor health; Learning disability; Day-to-day activity limited a lot

The question relating to being kept informed on the wait to be seen in A&E indicated that those aged between 25-34 years old were significantly more negative than those aged 16-24 years old, whereas those aged over 55 were significantly more likely to report a positive experience.

People reporting fair or poor health or a pre-existing health condition are significantly more negative than those in good health or with no pre-existing condition. This is also seen with people who find that day-to-day activities are limited due to health.

Planned in advance

Two questions in the survey ask about people's experience of planned hospital admissions and seven characteristics are associated with the variation seen. Age and gender are not found to explain for any variation seen for these questions (Figure 3).

Whether a person had an operation or procedure did show variations for both questions in this section of the survey.

Figure 3: Number of questions affected by various characteristics - planned admission

All characteristics related to these questions are detailed in Table 3.

People who reported having an operation were significantly more positive about the information they had received before attending hospital but were significantly more negative regarding the length of time between waiting to be admitted to hospital after being referred.

Table 3: Significant response compared to reference group - planned admissions

Question	Positive	Negative
Length of time you waited to be admitted to hospital after being referred	SIMD 3; Other and general hospitals	Had an operation; Chronic pain lasting at least 3 months, learning disability, more than one long term health condition; Non-white
Information given before attending hospital helped understand what would happen	Had an operation	Fair health; Day-to-day activity limited a lot

Overall rating of admission to hospital

Two questions in the survey ask about people's overall experience of admission regardless of whether it was planned or an emergency. Ethnicity and whether an interpreter or help to communicate are needed, did not account for any variation seen for these questions (Figure 4).

Figure 4: Number of questions affected by various characteristics - overall admission

All characteristics related to these questions are detailed in Table 4.

As with other questions, age and gender are associated with some of the differences seen in experience, with people aged over 45 and males being significantly more likely to report a positive experience. The type of hospital where people were treated also showing differences, with those staying in community, long stay and general hospitals being significantly more positive compared to those treated in teaching hospitals.

People who were admitted to hospital as an emergency admission were significantly more negative compared to those who had a planned admission to hospital, as were those describing their general health as poor.

Table 4: Significant response compared to reference group - all admissions

Question	Positive	Negative
How did you feel about the time you had to wait to get a bed on the ward	Had an operation; Age 45-75+; Males; Other urban areas, remote small town, accessible rural and remote rural areas; SIMD 2, SIMD 5; Community, long stay, general and other hospitals	Emergency and something else admissions; Poor health; Mental health, more than one long term health condition
Overall, how would you rate your admission to hospital	Had an operation; Age 45-75+; Males; Deafness or severe hearing impairment, long term health condition; Christian; Accessible rural and remote rural areas; Community, long stay, general and other hospitals	Emergency and something else admissions; Fair and poor health; Mental health; Day-to-day activity limited a lot; Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Other