Trust performs well in A&E patient survey

Guy’s and St Thomas’ is one of only three NHS trusts in the country to have performed ‘better than expected’ in a Care Quality Commission survey.

The 2020 Urgent and Emergency Care Survey reports the views of more than 48,000 people who attended a major emergency department (A&E), urgent treatment centre or minor injury unit in England.

The survey involved 126 NHS acute trusts and asked people about their experiences of care from decision to attend, treatment and discharge during September 2020.

Guy’s and St Thomas’ scored 8.6 out of 10 for overall experience, and scored highly in five areas – arrival at A&E, waiting times, doctors and nurses, hospital environment and facilities, and respect and dignity.

It was identified by the CQC as a positive outlier, performing ‘better than expected’ along with two other trusts. This is because the proportion of respondents who answered positively to questions about their care, across the entire survey, was significantly above the national average. Guy’s and St Thomas’ achieved the most positive response options for 73% of all questions, compared to the national average of 66%.

Debbie de Labauve d’Arifat, matron for the emergency department at Guy’s and St Thomas’, said: “We are delighted that the majority of patients who were treated in the emergency department were happy with the quality of care they received.

"Our staff have worked tirelessly over the last year to continue providing high quality care while dealing with the added challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is always room for improvement and we welcome comments from patients and staff about how we can make our services and facilities even better.”