The National Inpatient Experience Survey is well underway across the country and we are encouraging those who are eligible to take part to do so before the survey closes on 31 July. This nationwide survey is taking place in all public acute hospitals in Ireland and it offers patients the opportunity to share their recent experiences in hospital to help us to improve hospital care.
This is the sixth National Inpatient Experience Survey and its past success is due, in no small part, to the strong engagement and support that has been received from participants and from hospital teams rights across the country. In May this year, a series of visits to each of the six HSE health regions took place to promote the survey to eligible participants and to thank staff in the participating hospitals for their support.
Our CEO, Angela Fitzgerald, and Director of Health Information and Standards, Rachel Flynn, were present for several of the visits, along with representatives from the HSE, the Department of Health, members of the National Care Experience Programme Steering Group and HIQA staff.
The visits provided a valuable opportunity to meet with senior leadership teams, hospital staff and patient representatives across the health system and also to learn about how the survey findings are being used to improve care across hospitals in Ireland.
Patients aged 16 years and over, who spent 24 hours or more in a public acute hospital, and were discharged during the month of May can take part. More information about the survey is available on www.yourexperience.ie.
The survey is part of the National Care Experience Programme, a joint initiative by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Department of Health.
The first National Inpatient Experience Survey took place in Ireland in 2017. Since then, over 61,000 patients have taken part and shared their experiences of hospital care. In 2022, 44% of invited patients responded to the survey, highlighting the strong desire of patients to talk about their experiences in hospital in order to bring about meaningful change. Approximately 32,000 patients are eligible to participate in this year’s survey.
Watch our short animation to learn more about the survey.
(Pictured at the beginning of this article: (left to right): Iolo Eilian (Assistant National Director, Patient and Service User Engagement, HSE), Mary McGeown (Head of Patient Safety Surveillance and Performance Unit, Department of Health), Angela Fitzgerald (HIQA CEO) and Maria Kane (Quality Manager, Person-centred Care Programme, St James’ Hospital) last month in St James’s Hospital, Dublin, promoting the National Inpatient Experience Survey)