Keep listening to patient feedback

Listening to patient feedback, why it’s more important than ever and how you can do it easily.

With more people than ever entering our hospitals, largely due to the Covid-19 pandemic, listening to patient feedback has never been so important. A study by The National Institute for Health Research, recently concluded that the NHS, whilst collecting huge amounts of feedback data, is unable to translate that data into change*.

The report also concluded that frontline staff rarely see feedback in a format where they can make improvements and staff don’t have the resources, time and skill to analyse and act on patient feedback.

‍Having the right systems in place is the first step to a positive outcome

Speed of response is vital when it comes to achieving high levels of positive outcomes in any business sector. That’s why it’s important that the right systems are put in place to enable you to have early alerts. With online feedback increasingly the format of choice for many patients, ensuring you are aware of any posts to forums, websites and social platforms is key, but how can you do this?

A platform such as iWantGreatCare is increasingly being used by patients to give feedback. The good news for hospital teams, is that the platform quickly alerts you to any feedback received, so you can act quickly and take positive steps.

Speed of response is a factor

By having instant access your teams will find it easy to prioritise key personnel to any issues that need addressing. Once positive steps are taken iWantGreatCare can work with you to understand the themes related to bad feedback and work with you to ensure this is passed effectively to the area where action is required, thereby ensuring that the mistakes highlighted in the The National Institute for Health Research article* are not repeated.

Virtual consultations are increasingly coming under the spotlight

With a large increase of virtual consultations taking place both with hospital staff and GPs, the chances of bad experiences being shared online (as many are done via smartphones and tablets) has also increased.

This is why it’s important to put in place a digital feedback system so you can prompt people to express feelings on your platform, rather than their own personal social media profiles.

Reducing staff time is key

With paper-based feedback in decline and more and more digital ways being popular, it has never been easier to send feedback. But ease also means an increase in numbers, which can be a drain on staff time.

That’s why it’s important to use technology, as much as possible, to listen to the patient voice and to tell you what the feedback means and how you might act on it. Getting ahead of any issues before they escalate or find their way onto social media will also protect valuable resources. iWantGreatCare can help you do this and enable you to prioritise staff resources more effectively‍

Now’s the time to take control of any feedback

The continuous monitoring and feedback, combined with easy early alert measures provided by iWantGreatCare means you can take full control and continue to listen to patients even at an extreme time of pressure.  To discover how iWantGreatCare can help you with your reputation management please email: clients@iwantgreatcare.org.

* Read the full article on patient feedback published by The Nursing Times, 16 November 2020

‍