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A patient survey by The Healthcare Commission shows that patients think waiting times are getting shorter but hospitals are getting dirtier.

They questioned 140,000 patients about their experiences in NHS casualty and outpatient wards throughout England.

The key findings that are on the Healthcare Commission website are as follows: Patients are broadly positive about their experience
•77% of patients reporting that their stay in the emergency department was no more than four hours, compared with 69% in 2003.
•Outpatients also reported shorter waiting times, with 80% of patients being given an appointment within three months, a five percent improvement on the previous year.
•Time spent waiting in the outpatient department was also reported to have decreased, with 55% of patients waiting 15 minutes or less and 10% waiting more than one hour.
•81% of outpatients reported complete confidence and trust in the doctor or nurse treating them– this figure was 73% for patients treated by a doctor in A&E.
Areas for improvement indicated by patients included
•45% of patients rated the emergency department as ‘very clean’, a four percent decrease from 2003.
•53% of outpatients rated the outpatients department as ‘very clean’, a 6% decrease from 2003.
•Patient involvement was found to be a key issue for patients visiting both emergency and outpatients departments:
- 20% of outpatients felt they were not getting the right amount of information for them to be fully involved in their care
- particularly concerning was the finding that only 49% of patients leaving A&E were given any information regarding possible side effects of new medication.
- A new question was added to the 2004 outpatients survey, regarding patient choice and 70% of patients reported that they were not given a choice of appointment times. However, out of these only 23% expressed a desire to have that choice.

Anna Walker, chief executive of the Healthcare Commission said: “This survey is very encouraging, and it is particularly good to see patients are beginning to experience a reduction in waiting times. People who are skeptical of the NHS should take note of what patients are actually saying, as it is clear how much they value the services on offer”.

“There is much to celebrate but patients still, and rightly so, expect further improvement in their health service. Patients are sending a very clear message that they want more involvement in decisions on their treatment and that current standards of cleanliness are still not good enough. That must improve”.
Source: "PATIENTS HAVE THEIR SAY ." British Nursing News Online. Thursday, 24 February 2005. 2-24-2005. <http://www.bnn-online.co.uk/index.asp#268>