The Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise will once again participate in the National Patient Experience Survey.
Pictured at the Hospital recently, were groups of staff representing inpatient care including catering, allied health professionals, admissions and pharmacy.
Ahead of the 2018 survey the Hospital staff, across all areas and disciplines, are making the commitment, ‘We are Listening, Responding and Improving’ Patient Experience.
The Hospital is now making plans to support the roll-out of the 2018 survey while working on implementing improvement plans across the system.
The 2018 survey is part of a broader programme to help improve the quality and safety of healthcare services provided to patients in Ireland.
The survey tries to understand how patients interact with the healthcare system and how they experience this process. It will help Hospitals establish what is working well in our hospitals and what needs to be improved.
Overall, patients’ ratings of their experiences at Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise were the same as the national average. 84% of patients at Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise said they had a ‘very good’ or ‘good’ experience
Areas of good experiences were found across the care on the ward and discharge or transfer stages.
The hospital performed above the national average on food, and, compared with the national average, patients were more likely to be offered a replacement meal if they could not eat at mealtimes.
Many patients reported positive experiences on their discharge or transfer. People said that their families were given enough information to help with their care and that hospital staff took their family or home situation into account when planning their discharge.
Patients in Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise were more likely to be informed about the medication side effects to watch out for, compared with the national average.
The survey found that, overall, people in Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise were generally treated with respect and dignity.
The majority of patients also had trust and confidence in the staff treating them.
According to Michael Knowles, General Manager Portlaoise Hospital: “The Patient Experience Survey results have given us a clear insight into the patient’s experiences in our hospitals and assists us in understanding what matters to patients.
“It confirms for us the importance of working in partnership with our patients, their carers, our staff and communities. Even small changes can lead to improved patient safety and wellbeing, while staff report higher levels of job satisfaction.”
Trevor O’Callaghan, Group CEO Dublin Midlands Hospital Group said: “The 2017 results of the National Patient Experience Survey reflect the values and principles outlined in our first Hospital Group Strategy: Patients will be treated with respect and dignity at all times’ and we will ‘Build trust with our patients through openness and transparency’.
“I would like to commend all our hospitals on their individual results; Portlaoise Hospital performed in line with the national average with 84% of patients said they had a ‘very good’ or ‘good’ experience and that is very welcome result and testament to the work by all staff at the Hospital.
“There is also clear markers for improvement and this is very important and worthwhile work and it will take time for these improvements to be realised.
“Our hospitals have been very busy this year and staff have responded admirably to the increased demand.
“I wish to thank staff for their commitment to improving our patient’s experience.
“We would again encourage our patients to participate in this year’s survey – your feedback is very important to us and provides us with important information on how we can continue to improve patient care and build on positive patient experience.”
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