PATIENTS at Wye Valley NHS Trust have given a thumbs-up to the quality of care and treatment they are receiving.

Figures published following the results of the national inpatients survey – which captured the views of more than 83,000 people who spent at least one night in hospital in the UK last year – show improved feedback from WVT patients.

The national survey included 1,250 people who had received care and treatment from Wye Valley NHS trust during the summer of 2015.

A response rate of 56 per cent put the Trust ahead of the average response rate - 47 per cent - and showed marked improvements in many areas compared to previous years.

“These are very encouraging results which demonstrate that the hard work the Trust is putting in to improve the quality of services is having an impact on our patients’ experiences,” said Denise Price, the Trust’s interim director of nursing.

“This includes improved ratings for the amount of time patients spent waiting for a bed after being admitted and how long they waited to be discharged, a reduction in the level of noise disruption at night and improved privacy and dignity experienced through being cared for on single-sex wards.”

Patients who completed the survey were also pleased with the answers they received from doctors when questioned about their treatment, and more felt there were enough nurses on duty to care for them than 12 months ago.

Other improvements included patients feeling more involved in making decisions about their care and treatment, the amount of information they received and generally how well looked after they felt while in hospital.

“Despite this being a very positive report, it’s important to note that even those areas where we have already improved, we know we can do things better and are working with staff on continuous improvements across the board.”

She added that the Trust was disappointed, however, with the feedback from patients who visited the Emergency Department.

“They told us that they want more information about their condition and treatment and felt they were not given enough privacy," she said.

“We were already aware of these issues and in January this year we opened six new bays in our Emergency Department to help increase our ability to treat more patients while respecting their privacy and dignity. We’re taking what our patients tell us seriously.

“Overall, this paints a picture of an improving organisation. Much work has taken place in recent years to improve the environment and make our services more responsive to patients’ needs.

“We’re grateful to those patients who took the time to complete the survey. Their responses and feedback are helping us to help them. We shall now go over the survey in detail and ensure that we make the best of the valuable information contained within the report - both the good and the bad.”