The results of the National Inpatient Experience Survey, carried out in all public hospitals in Ireland in May, have been published.
This is the sixth year that the survey has been carried out and was an opportunity for patients of Mayo University Hospital to describe their experiences in hospital.
Welcoming the findings, Catherine Donohoe, Hospital Manager says the findings of the survey provide them with important insights into patients’ perspectives of how they experienced treatment in the hospital and what improvements are needed to our services. It also helps see how the patient voice has helped them change and improve hospital care since 2017 when the first survey was carried out.
Areas where patients identified good experiences included patients stating; they always felt treated with respect and dignity in hospital; offered food that met their dietary needs; always received help from staff, when needed, to get to the bathroom or toilet; and always given enough privacy when being examined or treated.
Some of the areas where patients identified as needing improvement included: not receiving enough information from the hospital on how to manage their condition after discharge; and some patients who wanted to give feedback or make a complaint, did not know how or where to do so.
Tony Canavan, Regional Executive Officer HSE West and North West says this survey allows them to engage with patients and learn from and embed areas they are doing well in and also highlight areas they could do better in.
The 2024 results showed that 84% of patients across hospitals had a positive experience of care.
