caring Communication

Feature
Tallaght Hospital
leading the way on
patient advocacy
esults presented at a special
showcase event for the
R Volunteer-Led Patient Survey
Programme at Tallaght Hospital
showed that 94pc of those
surveyed said their care there was excellent,
very good or good.
As part of its longstanding commitment to
patient advocacy and ensuring a high quality
patient experience, Tallaght Hospital undertook
the survey programme involving extensive
patient surveys of inpatients and outpatients
in 2015 to gather patient feedback and
use it to improve services.
Between July and November 2015, specially
trained members of the Tallaght Hospital
Volunteer Service, in partnership with the
Patient Advocacy Service, interviewed 426
patients about their experiences at Tallaght
Hospital. Working with the Picker Institute,
personalised surveys were designed for each
patient that enabled volunteers to generate
feedback on their experience of the treatment
and facilities at Tallaght Hospital in an
atmosphere of comfort and confidence.
The survey results were presented as a
special Patient Survey Showcase event,
held at Tallaght Hospital in January. Guests
included Peter Tyndall Ombudsman, Stephen
McMahon of the Irish Patients Association,
Dr Philip Crowley of the HSE, Lisa Yorke of
the Picker Institute and representatives of
Irish and UK hospitals and local patients’ representatives.
Survey results revealed that the vast majority
of patients are happy with their experience
at Tallaght Hospital, with 94pc of inpatients
responding that care was good, very good or
excellent; 98pc saying their hospital room or
ward was clean and 95% saying they had confidence
in the nurses. Importantly, the survey
was designed with the user in mind, to find
improvements that are not always obvious to
staff and regular visitors.
Among the key findings were:
• 95pc of inpatients said they ‘always’ had
confidence and trust in the nurses treating
them
• Just 44pc of inpatients reported that they
‘definitely’ found someone on the hospital
staff to talk to about their worries or fears.
• 98pc of outpatients said that doctors knew
‘enough’ about their medical history
• Just 17pc of outpatients were given written
materials about the hospital, prior to their
appointment
David Slevin, CEO, Tallaght Hospital said,
“Tallaght Hospital has always been committed
to ensuring that all our patients receive
the highest quality of care and a central part
of that is collecting and responding to their
feedback.
“This initiative, with support from experts
46 | health matters | spring 2016