Patient care has improved

The Healthcare Commission found a number of improvements for patients at Oxford Radcliffe hospitals compared to last year, with 92 per cent of patients rating the standard of care as "excellent, very good or good".

Thirty per cent of patients surveyed at the John Radcliffe and Churchill Hospitals in Oxford, and at the Horton Hospital in Banbury, spent their stay with patients of the opposite sex, a slight improvement on 31 per cent last year.

This score placed the trust 50th best out of 165 for the fewest patients using mixed sex wards.

But only 39 per cent had to use mixed bath and shower rooms, a significant improvement on 51 per cent last year.

Jacqui Pearce-Gervis, chairman of the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Patient Focus Group, said: "During recent years there have been major improvements in terms of patient satisfaction over the issue of mixed sex wards. Now, although there are still some mixed sex wards, there are more single sex four-bed bays, and we are pushing for more single-sex bathrooms on the wards."

Dorothy Holloway, 60, of Wensric Drive, Minster Lovell, said she noticed an improvement when she was at the JR with a stomach complaint in September.

She said: "There was a massive improvement compared to two years ago - there are still some mixed sex wards, but I was moved into a women's bay as soon as possible.

"There were separate bathrooms for ladies and men, and the unisex bathroom had locks on the toilet doors, which was not the case when I stayed in 2003."

Helen Peggs, a spokesman for the ORH, said the number of male and female patients sharing a ward had dropped to 29 per cent, once A&E and critical care wards had been taken out of the equation.

She added: "We are delighted that we have made such progress in improving our accommodation, so that fewer patients have to stay in a ward with both male and female bays. This includes planning new buildings with more single rooms, and refurbishing older wards."

The trust was among the top 20 per cent for 16 areas, including information for patients about their care, being treated with dignity and afforded privacy, and whether they witnessed nurses washing their hands.

The survey results also showed, however, that the number of patients experiencing a delay before they are discharged from hospital had not reduced, although the way in which the discharge process was handled had improved.

The survey results are as follows:

Questions by the Healthcare Commission to 484 patients at the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Trust and 444 at Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre. Answers are in percentages.

While in hospital, did you ever stay in a critical care area (Intensive Care Unit, High Dependency Unit or Coronary Care Unit)?

Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre NHS Trust: Yes: 10 No: 90

Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust: Yes: 24 No: 76

When you were first admitted to a bed on a ward, did you share a sleeping area, for example a room or bay, with patients of the opposite sex?

NOC: Yes: 4 No: 96

ORH: Yes: 30 No: 70

During your stay in hospital, how many wards did you stay in?

NOC: One ward: 77 Two: 21 Three or more: 2

ORH: One ward: 69 Two: 24 Three or more: 7

After you moved to another ward (or wards), did you ever share a sleeping area, for example a room or bay, with patients of the opposite sex?

NOC: Yes: 4 No: 96

ORH: Yes: 30 No: 70

While staying in hospital, did you ever share the same bathroom or shower area as patients of the opposite sex?

NOC: Yes: 3 Yes because special bathing equipment needed: 0 No: 97

ORH: Yes: 39 Yes because special bathing equipment needed: 2 No: 59

Were you ever bothered by noise at night from other patients?

NOC: Yes: 21 No: 79

ORH: Yes: 38 No: 62

Were you ever bothered by noise at night from hospital staff?

NOC: Yes: 14 No: 86

ORH: Yes 22 No: 78

In your opinion, how clean was the hospital room or ward that you were in?

NOC: Very clean: 68 Fairly clean: 29 Not very clean: 2 Not at all clean: 0

ORH: Very clean: 53 Fairly clean: 41 Not very clean: 5 Not at all clean: 1

How clean were the toilets and bathrooms that you used in hospital?

NOC: Very clean: 65 Fairly clean: 29 Not very clean: 6 Not at all clean: 1

ORH: Very clean: 52 Fairly clean: 40 Not very clean: 5 Not at all clean: 3

Did you feel threatened during your stay in hospital by other patients or visitors?

NOC: Yes: 1 No: 99

ORH: Yes 2 No: 98

How would you rate the hospital food?

NOC: Very good 19 Good: 40 Fair: 31 Poor: 11

ORH: Very good 18 Good: 37 Fair: 31 Poor: 14

Were you offered a choice of food?

NOC: Yes, always: 86 Yes, sometimes: 10

ORH: Yes, always: 78 Yes, sometimes: 13 No: 49

Did you get enough help from staff to eat your meals?

NOC: Yes, always: 68 Yes, sometimes: 20 No: 11

ORH: Yes, always: 61 Yes, sometimes: 18 No: 21

When you had important questions to ask a doctor, did you get answers that you could understand?

NOC: Yes, always: 81 Yes, sometimes: 18 No: 1

ORH: Yes, always: 69 Yes, sometimes: 26 No: 4

Did you have confidence and trust in the doctors treating you?

NOC: Yes, always: 91 Yes, sometimes: 9 No: 1

ORH: Yes, always: 84 Yes, sometimes: 13 No: 3

Did doctors talk in front of you as if you weren't there?

NOC: Yes, often: 2 Yes, sometimes: 10 No: 87

ORH: Yes, often: 5 Yes, sometimes: 22 No: 73

As far as you know, did doctors wash or clean their hands between touching patients?

NOC: Yes, always: 78 Yes, sometimes: 15 No: 7

ORH: Yes, always : 72 Yes, sometimes: 17 No: 11

When you had important questions to ask a nurse, did you get answers that you could understand?

NOC: Yes, always: 70 Yes, sometimes: 27 No: 3

ORH: Yes, always: 69 Yes, sometimes: 27 No: 4

Did you have confidence and trust in the nurses treating you?

NOC: Yes, always: 74 Yes, sometimes: 25 No: 2

ORH: Yes, always: 75 Yes, sometimes: 23 No: 2

Did nurses talk in front of you as if you weren't there?

NOC: Yes, always: 2 Yes, sometimes: 13 No: 85

ORH: Yes, always: 4 Yes, sometimes: 15 No: 81

In your opinion, were there enough nurses on duty to care for you in hospital?

NOC: There were always or nearly always enough: 67 There were sometimes enough: 26 There were rarely or never enough: 6

ORH: There were always or nearly always enough: 62 There were sometimes enough: 30 There were rarely or never enough: 8

As far as you know, did nurses wash or clean their hands between touching patients?

NOC: Yes, always : 77 Yes, sometimes : 20 No: 3

ORH: Yes, always: 76 Yes, sometimes : 20 No: 4

Sometimes in a hospital, a member of staff will say one thing and another will say something quite different. Did this happen to you?

NOC: Yes, often: 3 Yes, sometimes: 26 No: 70

ORH: Yes, often: 5 Yes, sometimes: 26 No: 69

Were you involved as much as you wanted to be in decisions about your care and treatment?

NOC:Yes, definitely: 63 Yes, to some extent: 33 No: 3

ORHYes, definitely: 55 Yes, to some extent: 36 No: 8

How much information about your condition or treatment was given to you?

NOC: Not enough: 13 The right amount: 87 Too much: 0

ORH: Not enough: 17 The right amount: 82 Too much: 1

If your family or someone else close to you wanted to talk to a doctor, did they have enough opportunity to do so?

NOC: Yes, definitely: 47 Yes, to some extent: 41 No: 12

ORH: Yes, definitely: 48 Yes, to some extent: 38 No: 14

Did you find someone on the hospital staff to talk to about your worries and fears?

NOC: Yes, definitely: 48 Yes, to some extent: 36 No: 16

ORH: Yes, definitely: 42 Yes, to some extent: 38 No: 20

Were you given enough privacy when discussing your condition or treatment?

NOC: Yes, always: 79 17 No: 4

ORH: Yes, always: 72 Yes, sometimes: 20 No: 9

Were you given enough privacy when being examined or treated?

NOC: Yes, always: 93 Yes, sometimes: 6 No: 1

ORH: Yes, always: 87 Yes, sometimes: 11 No: 2

Were you ever in any pain?

NOC: Yes: 78 No: 22

ORH: Yes: 64 No: 36

Do you think the hospital staff did everything they could to help control your pain?

NOC: Yes, definitely: 79 Yes, to some extent: 17 No: 4

ORH: Yes, definitely: 76 Yes, to some extent: 20 No: 4

How many minutes after you used the call button did it usually take before you got the help you needed?

NOC: 0 minutes / Right away: 13 1-2 minutes: 45 3-5 minutes: 32 More than 5 minutes: 10 I never got help: 0

ORH: 0 minutes / Right away: 17 1-2 minutes: 38 3-5 minutes: 28 More than 5 minutes: 16 I never got help: 1

Overall, did you feel you were treated with respect and dignity while you were in the hospital?

NOC: Yes, always: 87 Yes, sometimes: 11 No: 1

ORH: Yes, always: 82 Yes, sometimes: 15 No: 3

How would you rate how well the doctors and nurses worked together?

NOC: Excellent: 47 Very good: 37 Good: 12 Fair: 4 Poor: 1

ORH: Excellent: 41 Very good: 37 Good: 14 Fair: 6 Poor: 1

Overall, how would you rate the care you received?

NOC: Excellent: 55 Very good: 32 Good: 9 Fair: 4 Poor: 1

ORH: Excellent: 46 Very good: 35 Good: 11 Fair: 6 Poor: 2

During your hospital stay, were you ever asked to give your views on the quality of your care?

NOC: Yes: 8 No: 92

ORH: Yes: 5 No: 95

While in hospital, did you ever see any posters or leaflets explaining how to complain about the care you received?

NOC: Yes: 34 No: 66

ORH: Yes: 37 No: 63

Did you want to complain about the care you received in hospital?

NOC: Yes: 5 No: 95

ORH: Yes: 5 No: 95