Patients urged to make their voices heard on MK health services

The local NHS is backing Friends and Family Test Spotlight Week, which runs from Monday 14th March to Friday 18th March 2016.

Since its launch in 2013, more than 10 million pieces of patient feedback have been submitted.

The Friends and Family Test (FFT) has been rolled out across most NHS services, including community care, hospitals, mental health services, maternity services, GP and dental practices, emergency care, patient transport and more.

The FFT asks patients a simple question to find out whether, based on their experience, they rate the service highly enough to say they would recommend it to the people they care about, which is seen as the acid test for most people of whether something is good enough.

Most NHS-funded services now offer people the opportunity to rate their experience and that includes space to give any comments to explain their score or to make suggestions about how things could be made better.

Figures are submitted to NHS England every month and, nationally, almost 17 million pieces of patient feedback have been given in the past three years.

One of the benefits is that NHS staff, and the people who plan local healthcare, get confirmation that they are mostly doing a great job: in general, more than 9 out of 10 people give a positive response and that is really good for morale

Dr Nicola Smith, Chair of NHS Milton Keynes CCG, said: “The Friends and Family Test gives every patient the opportunity to have their say on the care and treatment they have received from the NHS.

“It is a quick and anonymous way for people to give their views after receiving care or treatment across the NHS.

“Patient comments provide a rich source of ideas and help to explain what is not going well as well as the things that people are happy with. The fact the information comes through soon after the patient’s contact with the NHS means faster action can be taken to address any issues.

“It might be something as simple as poor signage, difficulty getting through on the telephone, cleanliness of the facilities or politeness of staff. It could be a big idea for driving up quality, saving money or making it easier for people of all ages, languages and physical conditions to get involved.

“If you want to find out more, ask a member of staff next time you get care or treatment from the NHS. You can also see more information about the FFT at www.nhs.uk/friendsandfamily.”