Scottish Inpatient Patient Experience Survey 2011 Volume 1: National Results

5 Results - Care and treatment

Care and treatment

5.1 Patients were asked how much they agreed or disagreed with the following eight statements about their care or treatment during their stay in hospital:

• I was able to get adequate pain relief when I needed it;
• I had privacy when being examined and treated;
• I had privacy when my condition and treatment was discussed;
• I got help with washing and dressing when I needed it;
• I got help with eating and drinking when I needed it;
• I got help with going to the bathroom or toilet when I needed it;
• Before moving wards, a member of staff explained what would happen;
• Moving wards was well managed.

5.2 Patients were also asked how they felt about their involvement in decisions about their care and treatment, as well as their overall experience of their care and treatment. Providing the right amount of information to each patient in an understandable way is essential for them to be able to make informed decisions about their care and treatment.

Views on care and treatment overall

5.3 At a national level, there was a small increase in the percentage of patients rating their overall care and treatment positively, with 85 per cent rating it as either excellent or good compared to 84 per cent last year. Four per cent rated it as poor or very poor. Chart 3 shows how patients answered the question.

Chart 3 Overall, how would you rate your care and treatment during your stay in hospital?

Views on individual aspects of care and treatment

5.4 Table 3 shows how patients rated their care and treatment.

5.5 The results for care and treatment range from 68 per cent of patients who were positive about getting help with eating and drinking, to 95 per cent who described having privacy when being examined or treated. The results for each statement were very similar to last year's.

5.6 The reason for the lower positive ratings for getting help with washing and dressing, eating and drinking, and going to the bathroom may be partly due to patients who answer "neither agree nor disagree" because they do not require help.

5.7 A new question was added asking patients if they got help going to the bathroom or toilet if they needed it, with 80 per cent of patients agreeing or strongly agreeing that they did.

Table 3 Summary of the results of questions asked about care and treatment

* Not all rows add to 100% due to rounding, statistically significant differences are in bold