The findings from the outpatient department survey 2011 for Barnsley Hospital have been published by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) today (Tuesday 14 February).

The survey, carried out by the Picker Institute, asked the views of adults in outpatients in May 2011 about what they thought about different aspects of care and treatment they received at the hospital.

Above average

The hospital did better than most on the questions relating to cleanliness of the toilets, being able to find a place to park and confidence and trust in staff. Above average scores were also achieved for explaining test results and privacy while discussing their condition and treatment.

The survey also highlighted four areas where Barnsley Hospital had made significant improvements since the last survey (in 2009). These were appointments starting within 15 minutes of stated time, understanding what would happen during an appointment, warnings around danger signals and outpatients being an organised department.

Areas where the hospital rated worse than average were around not being given the name of the person the appointment was with, not being aware they would be having treatment and not receiving copies of all letters between hospital doctors and GPs.

Chief Nurse at Barnsley Hospital, Heather Mcnair, said she was pleased to see progress had been made in waiting times for appointments and better communication with patients during them.

“We carry out our own monthly surveys with patients and the findings of the Picker Institute from last May are broadly in line with what they are telling us. We regularly get positive feedback on the cleanliness of the hospital and patients being involved in decisions about them.

“Of course, we’ll be paying particular attention to making improvements in the areas where we didn’t rate as highly as we could and continuing to listen and respond to the daily feedback our patients give us.”

Results from the survey also showed that 98 per cent of patients said their overall rating of care was good, very good or excellent.

The detail in this report is taken from the independently assessed data gathered by the Picker Institute.

More details and the results of the outpatient survey are available on the CQC website.