FFT response rates increase by 30% in 1 month!

Background

Only 68 (<1%) Outpatient FFT responses were received throughout 2015, ranking Chester the lowest in its peer league group. Results drew the attention of NHS England and local commissioners demanded a rapid turnaround strategy to increase feedback.

THE ISSUES:

  • Only paper surveys were used to collect feedback. Patients who don’t feel comfortable giving feedback in the provider’s environment had no other way to offer feedback
  • No common improvement themes emerge with such a low volume of responses
  • Limited survey channels mean responses are mainly received from patients with preference to that mode. This is not inclusive to every demographic and integrity is compromised

The Plan:

The Countess already partnered with Healthcare Communications to survey A&E patient by SMS 24 hours after discharge. So to capture a higher volume of OP responses, Healthcare Communications added SMS and IVM to survey patients. Responses then automatically feed in to Envoy software for ‘live’ analysis and immediate results.

THE PHENOMENAL TURNAROUND!

  • By adding SMS and IVM survey channels, 30% of OP patients returned feedback, responses jumped to 5511 in 1 month!
  • Staff could now access real time results about the service they provide, increasing buy in and sparking innovative ideas to engage patients more
  • The Learning and Development team created new training initiatives based on feedback themes

In just 2 months…

  • Feedback has led to training workshops specific to reception and nursing staff to celebrate positive comments and develop improvement action plans
  • Rollout of SMS and IVM to discharged inpatients to capture more feedback from this cohort
  • Consistently achieving 30% response rates in OPD and the new target is now 35% trust wide

The future is bright…

The once struggling trust is fast becoming a leader in patient centric care and innovation. Chester is in a completely different position and patient experience continues to permeate through every department.

Next steps include:

  • Introduce SMS and IVM to Maternity services at each touchpoint
  • A ‘live stream’ of patient feedback from the Envoy real time dashboard to the trust website
  • A training program based on ‘You Said, We Did’ to compliment the packs already created by the L&D team.