Oxford NHS Trust's emergency units show patients respect

The Urgent and Emergency Care Survey 2024 gathered feedback from 379 patients who received care at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH) in February 2024.

The survey focused on the emergency care provided at John Radcliffe and Horton General hospitals' emergency departments, in Oxford and Banbury respectively, as well as the urgent care provided at the John Radcliffe Hospital.

OUH performed well in several areas, including communication with patients after their initial assessment, providing sufficient privacy during examinations or treatments, and treating patients with respect and dignity.

John Radcliffe Hospital (Image: NQ) However, one of the main areas for improvement was communication regarding waiting times.

Overall, OUH outperformed other trusts in seven questions, performed worse in one, and was on par in 48 other questions.

Yvonne Christley, chief nursing officer at OUH, said: "We are pleased to see that the Urgent and Emergency Care Survey reflects the dedication and hard work of our staff.

"While there is always room for improvement, the positive feedback highlights our commitment to providing high-quality care to our patients.

"I am very proud of our hardworking teams, including at our two emergency departments.

"The departments are incredibly busy areas of our hospitals, and staff there continue to deliver compassionate excellence.

"Thank you to all the patients who took the time to provide feedback via the survey, which helps us identify what we do well and what can be done better."

Dr Larry Fitton, emergency department consultant and divisional director for medicine, rehabilitation, and cardiac at OUH, added: "Our teams are dedicated to continuously improving the patient experience, and we are grateful for the feedback that helps us to better understand and meet the needs of our community.

"It is encouraging to see our good work recognised, particularly as we head into winter and the busier months.

"There are always useful lessons to learn from patient feedback, and we will look carefully at the results of the survey to identify areas of improvement."

The survey is conducted every two years and was last conducted in 2022.

However, due to a large-scale redevelopment, including changes to the methodology, sample month, and survey questions, no historical comparisons are available for the 2024 survey.

Patients' responses will help the CQC to understand the risk and quality of the services provided, and the data will be used by NHS England to understand patient experiences of the services they are receiving from acute settings.