Dorset County Hospital (DCH) is continuing to provide good urgent and emergency care, despite the ongoing pressures faced by Emergency Departments throughout the country.
The latest Urgent and Emergency Care Survey, carried out by the Picker Institute on behalf of the Care Quality Commission, captured the views and experiences of 467 patients who attended DCH’s Emergency Department between April and July last year.
The survey asked for patient feedback on their arrival, waiting times, privacy, doctors and nurses, care and treatment, tests, hospital environment and facilities, support recovery at home, leaving A&E, respect and dignity and overall experience.
DCH scored ‘better than expected’ in overall patient experience in comparison with other trusts, with 82% rating their experience highly. DCH also scored ‘better than expected’ in questions focused on leaving A&E and ‘somewhat better than expected’ in questions focused on privacy and respect and dignity. In the remaining questions, DCH scored ‘about the same’ in comparison to other trusts.
Areas for improvement included further information being provided on how patients can care for their condition at home, ensuring patients understand the explanation given by a doctor or nurse on the condition and treatment and further explanation as to why certain tests were needed.
Emergency Department Matron Clare Turnbull said: “Our Emergency Department team have been doing incredible work to ensure patients coming through our doors are seen and treated as quickly as possible.
“They go over and above every day in a busy department and we are lucky to have such a focused and dedicated team. The results reflect just how hard everyone works and they should be very proud of themselves.”
Chief Nursing Officer at Dorset County Hospital Dawn Dawson added: “We are really proud of the latest results. They highlight how hard the team work to ensure we provide high-quality care and give our patients the best experience possible and we are incredibly grateful for everything they do.”
The full patient survey results are available on the CQC website at cqc.org.uk/publications/surveys/urgent-emergency-care-survey
Staff pictured outside DCH Emergency Department. Image credit: Dorset County Hospital