Patients of Limerick hospitals asked for 'honest feedback' in major survey

THE SIXTH National Inpatient Experience Survey is now underway in University Hospital Limerick, Croom Orthopaedic Hospital and St John’s Hospital.

This annual survey — the largest of its kind in Ireland — offers patients the opportunity to share their experiences of healthcare and tell us what is working well and what improvements they believe are necessary. This provides a clear picture of the safety and quality of care in Irish hospitals, as seen through the eyes of patients.

Almost 32,000 patients are eligible to participate in this year’s survey. The first National Inpatient Experience Survey took place in Ireland in 2017. Since then, over 61,000 patients have taken part and shared their experiences of hospital care. In 2022, 44% of invited patients responded to the survey, highlighting the strong desire of patients to talk about their experiences in hospital in order to bring about meaningful change.

The National Inpatient Experience Survey asks a total of 52 questions on topics such as admission to hospital, care and treatment on the ward, trust in hospital staff, respect and dignity, and discharge from hospital. All patients aged over 16 years-of-age who spent 24 hours or more in hospitals across Limerick and were discharged during the month of May are eligible to participate in the survey.

To find out more about the survey, watch the animation here or visit the website yourexperience.ie, or visit the survey's social media at Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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HIQA’s Director of National Care Experience Programme, Rachel Flynn, said: “I would like to encourage all eligible patients to tell us about their recent experiences of care in hospital.

"By sharing your views, you will provide us with invaluable information on the improvements that are necessary to deliver a more person-centred health service in your area. It is by listening and learning from your experiences that we can bring about effective and sustainable changes across the healthcare services.”  

Paula Cussen Murphy, Director of Quality and Patient Safety at UL Hospitals Group said the National Inpatient Experience Survey gives them a unique opportunity to gain a better understanding of patients’ experiences at University Hospital Limerick.

"It allows us to continually pinpoint areas for improvement and affirm positive, high quality care. I encourage all eligible patients to share their experiences with us by engaging with this survey.

“We listened to your feedback from the National Inpatient Experience Survey 2022, and responded with many changes to improve patient experience. These include assigning Patient Advocacy Liaison Mangers to University Hospital Limerick, scheduling meetings between our multi-disciplinary teams, patients and their families, and introducing a discharge plan called the Golden Patient Initiative.

"We look forward to receiving feedback from our patients following this year’s survey to see how we can continue to improve," Ms Cussen Murphy.

Alan O'Gorman, Director of Nursing, Croom Orthopaedic Hospital, commented: “Listening to our patients’ experiences and responding with improvements is fundamental to how we approach patient-centred care. I encourage all eligible patients to share their experiences with us by engaging with this survey.

“We have made several improvements based on the findings the National Inpatient Experience Survey from 2022. These include assigning Patient Advocacy Liaison Mangers to Croom Orthopaedic Hospital, scheduling meetings between our multi-disciplinary teams, patients and their families, and expanding our menus with increased meal choices for patients.

"We look forward to hearing the results of this year’s survey as we continue to develop quality improvement plans and enhance the patient experience.”

Noreen Kennedy, Head of Quality and Patient Safety, St John’s Hospital, said: “Getting honest feedback from our patients really helps us to make the inpatient experience at St John’s Hospital, a more positive one. I encourage all eligible patients to share their experiences with us by engaging with this survey.

“In the National Inpatient Experience Survey 2022, you told us that you wanted more information about the side effects of your medication. We implemented the ‘Know, Check, Ask’ and the ‘Say-1’ campaigns to equip our staff to discuss medication side effects and manage those side-effects with you. These positive changes were made as a direct result of patients taking the time to do the survey, and we look forward to hearing about our patients’ experiences this year.”