Assessing the patient experience while attending A&E.

摘要

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published the results of the fourth national accident and emergency survey (CQC, 2012). Overall, 147 acute and specialist NHS trusts with major accident and emergency (A&E) departments in England took part. Almost 46000 patients aged 16 or over who attended A&E during January, February or March 2012 completed the survey. The response rate was 38%. Most respondents said they had confidence and trust in the doctors and nurses working in A&E departments. However, more people said they waited longer at A&E and spent more time waiting to see a doctor or nurse in 2012 than in the previous survey in 2008. Significant communication failures between healthcare providers and patients were also revealed. How the survey results are used The results from the 2012 survey will primarily be used by NHS trusts to help them improve their performance. The CQC has included data from this survey in its Quality and Risk Profiles to assess compliance with the essential standards set by the government, and has published data for all NHS trusts on the CQC website.