Publication of the NHS Friends and Family Test (FFT) Results for Harrogate & District NHS Foundation Trust From April 2013, patients are being asked a simple question to identify if they would recommend a particular service to their friends and family. This is a national initiative which has been implemented here at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust in line with national guidelines. The following groups of patients are being surveyed: Adult inpatients who have stayed at least one night in hospital; Adult patients who have attended A&E and left without being admitted to hospital; Women using maternity services (from October 2013); Some outpatient and community services (staged implementation from January 2015) Patients may be surveyed via a variety of methods including paper surveys, voting booths (token boxes) or by telephone. Results from the survey were published nationally for the first time in 2013 and Trusts are also asked to publish their local results on a monthly basis. What are patients asked? Patients are asked the following standard question: How likely are you to recommend our <ward / A&E department / service> to friends and family if they needed similar care or treatment? Answers are in the form of a scale from extremely unlikely to extremely likely. Patients will also have the opportunity to comment further so that the Trust can find out more details about their response which may help drive improvements. How to interpret the results The tables below present the following measures: Rec. (%) or Recommended (%) is the proportion of patients who responded Extremely Likely or Likely. Not Rec. (%) or Not Recommended (%) is the proportion of patients who responded Extremely Unlikely or Unlikely. Resp. Rate this is the proportion of patients who chose to answer the FFT question.
Inpatients, Day Cases & Emergency Department Friends and Family Test (FFT) The Friends and Family Test for inpatients and day cases at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust gathered 859 responses during March. 93% of patients are likely to recommend us, whereas 4% are not. The Friends and Family Test for the Harrogate A&E department & MIUs gathered 324 responses during March. 92% of patients are likely to recommend our A&E department or MIU, whereas 4% are not. The charts below show a breakdown of the responses given by inpatients and Harrogate ED patients surveyed in March.
Maternity Services Friends and Family Test (FFT) Women are asked for their views at three touch points: 1. Antenatal care to be surveyed at the 36 week antenatal appointment; 2. Birth and care on the postnatal ward to be surveyed at discharge from the ward/birth unit/following a home birth; 3. Postnatal community care to be surveyed at discharge from the care of the community midwifery team to the care of the health visitor/gp (usually at 10 days postnatal). The table below shows a summary of the Maternity Friends and Family Test in 2015/16 to date: In March 2015, the overall response rate for the maternity services data collection was 33%. This is based on 201 responses. 99% of patients surveyed are likely to recommend our Maternity Services, whereas 0% were not.
Outpatient & Ward Attenders Friends and Family Test (FFT) The Friends and Family Test for outpatients and ward attenders at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust gathered 2633 responses during March. 96% of patients are likely to recommend us, whereas 1% are not. Community Friends and Family Test (FFT) The Friends and Family Test for community patients at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust gathered 771 responses during March. 93% of patients are likely to recommend us, whereas 3% are not.
Friends and Family Test (FFT) Breakdown for April to March 2015 The tables below show a breakdown of the FFT data across all areas of collection. What is the Trust doing with the results? As well as monitoring the FFT scores and response rates for each ward, the A&E department and Maternity services, each ward/department also reviews all comments provided by patients as part of the FFT questionnaire. The inpatient wards are developing notice boards where they will display summary information and any themes emerging from FFT questionnaires and will provide information to patients on any actions taken as a result of comments received as part of FFT. Some examples of the actions that the wards have taken include:
Granby ward I was unclear about staff roles and responsibilities Noise levels were quite high Ensure all staff are wearing name badges. Photo boards with staff names and roles have been developed for wards. Put up an individual white board in each bay detailing the name and designation of the nursing staff caring for you. Checked all doors on the ward and reported to estates any that were banging loudly. Reminded staff about the importance of a quiet ward environment even on a busy ward. Fountains (Acute Medical Unit) It was not made clear to me on admission that I would be moving wards We have produced a leaflet to give to patients on admission to inform them that this is an admissions ward and that they will probably be moved to another ward. Nidderdale ward Night time medication was late at times. One night it was 12.30am Only three staff on duty at night. Needs more carers to support nurses Difficult to maintain privacy through the curtains Ward attenders felt they didn t have the correct information about Nidderdale ward facilities The staff nurses on nights have altered their routine with success so that late administration of medication has been minimised. The trust has taken patient comments about staff shortages very seriously and as a result we are increasing staffing levels to include care support workers. Nidderdale has the facility to offer patients private space to discuss any issues relating to their care or condition. The staff have been reminded to offer this to any patient who needs more privacy for any reason. We have introduced a board in the waiting room with patient information, to try and answer the most frequently asked questions.
Maternity Antenatal service is good although some things could have been followed a bit better We have recognised that changes needed to be made in the antenatal clinic regarding the antenatal pathway for women. We have undertaken a Rapid Process Improvement Workshop in mid-april and this will hopefully ensure improvements and efficiencies are made for both the women and the staff who work in the clinic. We will be displaying updates on progress on the notice board in the clinic. Told by a midwife she was too busy to help during the night when I needed it, felt reluctant from then to call for help. All other staff wonderful, very considerate and caring All staff were great although it may be an idea to be all singing from the same hymn sheet breast feeding We know that most couples are very satisfied with the service we provide however if there are any concerns we would welcome feedback at the time either to the midwife in charge or via the Patient Experience Team so that we can address any issues with the member of staff concerned at the time. We will be ensuring that all staff undertake customer care training to improve their communication skills. Currently all staff undertake a one day workshop on breast feeding and a training update every year. We are planning a further one days training on breastfeeding and relationship building for all staff over the next year, this will hopefully address any inconsistencies in advice and support.