Annual Report and Accounts 2012/13 - Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital

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2. Our Trust Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust
Annual Report and Accounts 2012/13
Patient Care and Quality
Improvements
Ensuring safe and good quality patient
care delivered with courtesy and
respect is the organising principle for
the Trust. The progress we have made
on delivering our quality priorities
over the last year and our aim to
continuously improve our services in
the coming year are summarised in
the Quality Report. The Quality Report
contains a number of examples of the
way in which the Trust has prioritised
and delivered improved quality and
safety outcomes for our patients.
Last year, we put in place a new
vision to guide the work of the 2,800
nurses, midwives and allied health
professionals [AHPs] providing patient
care at the Royal Devon & Exeter
Hospital. More details are included in
the Quality of Care section in the “Our
Trust” section. Further examples of
improvements we have made during
the year are included in the highlights
section at the start of the report.
The Trust has a Patient Experience
Group (PEG) that brings together
patient representative groups and
interest groups to ensure that we
learn from the experiences of patients
and take into account the particular
needs of identified groups in the
delivery of good quality care. The
work undertaken by this group feeds
into one of our key governance
committees: the Engagement &
Experience Committee that provides
both the strategic direction to the
Trust’s engagement activities as well as
assuring the Board on issues relating
to patient experience. This Committee
includes three Non-Executive Directors
and three Governors as well as
clinicians and Trust managers.
Cancer services rated
very highly by adult
patients in a national
survey
A detailed annual survey for the
Department of Health was sent to
113,000 cancer patients nationally and
1,314 RD&E patients. Seventy two per
cent of RD&E patients completed and
returned their survey answers. They
received their treatment for cancer
from the RD&E between September
and November 2011 and the results
were published in 2012.
The survey covered patient experience
from the time they were referred by
their GP to the RD&E for diagnostic
tests, through their treatment, and
aftercare. Aspects of their experience
included how well they understood
their results, pain control, side effect
management, respect and dignity,
communication with healthcare
professionals and the quality of
written information. 89% of RD&E
patients rated their care as excellent
or very good.
RD&E Clinical Director for Cancer
Services Mr John Renninson said:
“It is encouraging to see that the
overwhelming majority our patients
have had a positive experience of their
cancer treatment when understandably
they are going through a very difficult
time. There are high levels of patient
satisfaction in the survey with the
different types of information they
receive and we score highly for the
support services available to them and
their families through our excellent
team of specialist nurses and local
groups, especially FORCE charity.”
Lead nurse for cancer services
Tina Grose said: “Investigations
and treatment for cancer can be
frightening and stressful for our
patients and their families. It is our
priority to ensure they know that we
are with them every step of the way
and it was particularly heartening that
patients said in the survey that they
had confidence in staff and felt they
could discuss any concerns or worries
with us.”
There were 160 acute hospital NHS
trusts providing cancer services which
took part in this survey conducted
by Quality Health on behalf of the
Department of Health. Adult patients
who took part are aged over 16
years old. The cancer groups involved
included breast, colorectal/lower
gastrointestinal, lung, prostate, brain/
central nervous system, gynaecological,
haematological, head and neck,
sarcoma, skin, upper gastrointestinal
and urological.