Inpatient service rated positively by 90 per cent of respondents in Hospital Authority Patient Experience Survey
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The Hospital Authority (HA) Board today (September 20) discussed and endorsed the report on the "2017 Patient Experience Survey on Inpatient Service" (the Survey). The Survey revealed that the proportion of respondents who rated their overall inpatient experience positively had increased to 91 per cent, as compared to 86 per cent in a similar survey conducted two years ago. The Survey results will help the HA to better understand the needs of the patients and further enhance its service quality.
The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care (JCSPHPC), Faculty of Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong was commissioned by the HA to conduct the Survey from August to November 2017. More than 9 900 randomly selected patients discharged from 26 public hospitals were interviewed by phone. The Survey examined the core aspects of patient care, covering the patient journey from admission to discharge.
The Principal Investigator of the Survey, Professor Eliza Wong of the JCSPHPC, said that the overall response rate of the Survey was 84 per cent. The findings revealed an overall positive experience in inpatient service, with 91 per cent of respondents rating it 7 or above (on a scoring scale of 0 to 10). The mean score of the overall experience across the 26 public hospitals was 8.1. The JCSPHPC conducted a similar survey in 2015 for around 9 300 patients discharged from 25 public hospitals, where 86 per cent of respondents rated the overall experience positively and the mean score was 7.8.
The majority of the respondents gave high ratings for multiple care aspects including "doctors and nurses providing clear and understandable answers to important questions", "confidence and trust in healthcare professionals", "pain control", "provision of clear and understandable explanation in the patients' care and treatment process, as well as on how to take medication after discharge" and "being treated with respect and dignity".
However, Professor Wong added that, "Evaluative items concerning 'response time after pressing the call bell' and 'provision of contact information for post-discharge care' were identified as areas with comparatively low scores. These two newly added questions originated from a similar patient survey in the United Kingdom. To keep the Survey abreast of the times, we will continue to take into account both international experience and local healthcare culture in devising future questionnaires."
The HA Director (Quality and Safety), Dr Chung Kin-lai, said, "The HA will study the findings of the Survey in detail to continuously improve the quality of public hospital services. In view of the relatively low rating in the provision of discharge information in the 2015 Survey, the HA has launched a pilot project in some public hospitals where discharged patients would be given a summary sheet with salient medication reminders and future medical appointments. The project will be extended to all public hospitals if the outcome is favourable. On the call bell issue, we will also explore how best to support frontline staff and patients under the heavily loaded ward environment.
"The HA is deeply grateful to patients for their support and for giving positive ratings in this Survey on inpatient service. The HA will continue to carry out regular surveys in specific areas or themes to help map the service development direction and formulate improvement measures."
Members of the public are welcome to browse the full report on the Survey, which can be accessed online under "Special Reports" in the "Corporate News" section of the HA website www.ha.org.hk.
Ends/Thursday, September 20, 2018
Issued at HKT 19:40
Issued at HKT 19:40
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