Scottish Inpatient Patient Experience Survey 2014 Volume 2: Technical Report

5 Fieldwork

Introduction

• This section of the report provides detail on the survey fieldwork activities for the inpatient survey, including roles, collecting data and the timing of reminder letters during the fieldwork period.

Fieldwork activities

• Previously, individual NHS Boards used a Framework Agreement containing a list of approved contractors to appoint a survey contractor which best met need their local needs and requirements. This Framework was developed after a rigorous selection process run by NSS National Procurement. NSS National Procurement undertakes national procurement exercises for the NHS in Scotland.
• This year a contractor, Quality Health, was appointed through this process to administer the survey throughout the whole of Scotland, while ISD selected the sample of patients to receive a survey questionnaire. Further information on sampling is available in Chapter 4.
• Scottish Government staff provided day-to-day support for the administration of the survey to the contractor during the fieldwork period. In addition, the inpatient survey guidance manual set out the minimum requirements to be adhered to regarding ethics, data transfer and data security for fieldwork to be undertaken.
• The contractor carried out the fieldwork element of the inpatient survey, organising the mail out of survey packs, sending weekly monitoring updates to ISD and the Scottish Government, issuing reminders, input and quality assurance of data and sending completed datasets to ISD.
• The fieldwork commenced on a rolling basis on the 15^th January 2014. In total 43,893 survey packs were initially posted out in batches between 15^th January 2014 and 23^rd January 2014 by the contractor on behalf of each NHS Board. The survey pack contained the following:
  • Introductory / Cover letter;
  • Inpatient Patient Experience Survey;
  • A language sheet;
  • Information leaflet; and
  • FREEPOST envelope in which to return the survey.
• The front page of the survey provided information on how to complete the survey and directed respondents to a helpline number and website.
• The cover letter provided detail on why recipients had been chosen to participate in the survey, instructions on how to take part and information relating to the security of their personal data.
• The information leaflet provided information on arrangements for reporting the results of the survey. It also included information on accessing the survey in other formats and contained a space for contractors to add the telephone number for their translation line by the eight minority languages most widely spoken in Scotland.
• Patients who did not wish to take part in the survey were advised to indicate this either by phoning the helpline number and leaving their details so that they could be removed from the mailing list or return the uncompleted questionnaire using the FREEPOST envelope.
• Reminder letters were sent out twice during the duration of fieldwork to further encourage participation in the study. The initial reminder was sent on 13th February 2014 to all patients who did not respond to the first mailing in the three or four weeks after receiving the initial survey pack. The first reminder pack consisted of a letter requesting the potential respondents to complete the questionnaire previously sent in the original survey pack.
• A second reminder was sent out in batches between 12^th March 2014 and 17^th March 2014. The second reminder letter was sent to all those patients who did not respond approximately four weeks after the first reminder letter was issued. At this stage a full survey pack (additional copy of the questionnaire and leaflet and a FREEPOST envelope) was re-issued along with the second reminder letter to make it easier for the participants to respond.
• Before the initial survey and each reminder was issued, NHSCR^[5] undertook death checks to identify patients who had recently died to minimise the risk of the survey going to dead patients' addresses.
• The survey closed on 22nd April 2014. In total, 43,893 survey packs were sent to patients and 21,127 were returned, giving an overall response rate of 48%.
• During the fieldwork, a freephone helpline was made available to respond to queries from patients' surveys. Approximately 1,500 telephone enquiries were received.