West Suffolk Hospital seeks patients’ views on standards of care

13 January, 2003

The West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust in Bury St Edmunds is asking people who have recently attended the Hospital for their views on the quality of care provided in the Outpatients and Accident & Emergency Departments.

As part of an NHS survey of all acute hospitals, questionnaires have been sent to 1700 recent patients to gather information that will help improve the quality of hospital services.

The questions have been set by the Department of Health, and cover topics such as the appointments process, arrival, waiting times, cleanliness, staff, treatment, and patient information. The results of the survey will be returned to the Government and will form part of the star rating criteria to be published this summer.

“This survey will give us valuable information about patients’ experiences of the hospital and their views on the services we provide,” said Nichole Day, Director of Nursing & Community Relations.  “We will actively use information received from questionnaires to improve the quality of patient care.  I would stress how useful it will be for everyone receiving a questionnaire to complete and return it to the Trust as soon as possible.”

Any patients who have difficulty completing the survey can contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) on 01284 712 555, from 9am until 5pm Monday to Friday.