Patient experience at King’s Mill Hospital A&E worsens – but still among best in country

The Care Quality Commission health watchdog, which carried out the survey, said the long-term worsening of patient experience in NHS emergency care cannot be ignored.

The 185 respondents about Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust gave the trust’s emergency care unit at King’s Mill Hospital in Sutton an average of eight out of 10 for overall experience in 2022, down from a score of 8.4 when the survey was last done in 2020.

Overall, SFH ranked 10th out of the 122 hospital trusts surveyed.

Rachel Eddie, SFH chief operating officer, said: “Demand remains high for urgent and emergency care services across the country right now and our hospitals are no different, where our hard-working colleagues continue to work in really challenging circumstances to provide the best possible care to patients when they need it most.

“Seeking feedback from patients is an essential part of improving our services and we are so grateful to patients for their feedback and support they have shown through this survey – the results of which recognise SFH as one of the country’s top 10 hospitals for patients’ experience of accessing the essential urgent and emergency care services we provide.”

Nationally, 18 per cent of respondents gave a score of four or lower, with zero being a very poor experience, up from 8 per cent two years prior.

The CQC has previously said high call volumes and staff shortages in NHS 111 are leading to delays in people receiving medical advice and more people going to A&E instead.

The survey also shows the proportion of people feeling they were treated with respect and dignity in hospitals across England declined from 81 per cent in 2020 to 72 per cent last year.

Patients rated SFH nine out of 10 on the matter, up from 8.9 in the previous survey.

Dr Adrian Boyle, Royal College of Emergency Medicine president , said: "These results give a view of urgent and emergency healthcare through the eyes of the patient and reflect the challenges medical professionals working in emergency care experience every day."

Dr Sean O’Kelly, CQC chief inspector of healthcare, said staff are working extremely hard amid challenging circumstances.

However, he said: “We cannot afford to ignore the long-term decline shown in relation to issues like waiting times, information provided when people leave to go home, access to pain relief and emotional support.”

The proportion of patients across England who said they waited longer than four hours to be examined in A&E last year more than quadrupled to 17 per cent, up from 4 per cent in 2020.

At SFH, patients gave a score of six out of 10 regarding the length of time they waited to be examined, down from seven two years earlier.

An NHS spokeswoman said staff have delivered significant improvements since this survey was carried out, with faster ambulance response times and a greater number of patients being seen in A&E within four hours in June.