Patients 'satisfied' with experience at Ennis Hospital during 2024, new survey finds

More than 1,150 patients in Clare and across the rest of the Mid-West have provided rich and detailed feedback on their experience in hospital which is already being used to drive improvements in quality.

The results of the sixth National Inpatient Experience Survey (NIES) have found that the majority of respondents, 80% of patients, across the six acute hospitals in the HSE Mid-West area described their overall experience as good or very good.

Compared to 2022, the results of the 2024 survey show an improvement in patient satisfaction rate, particularly regarding areas such as pain management which had received lower scores in previous surveys.

Patients were asked, in 52 detailed questions, about their experiences of the care they received from admission through to care on the ward, care during examinations, diagnosis and treatment, discharge / transfer and perceived patient safety. This year was the first time patients were asked about patient safety, and the responses to these questions were amongst the highest scoring with most participants feeling confident in the safety and treatment of their care.

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The survey also assigned an overall rating of hospital experience, with a national average of 8.3 out of 10 in 2024. Ennis Hospital scored 9.1 while University Hospital Limerick achieved a rating of 7.7. St John’s Hospital in Limerick scored 8.3, Croom Orthopaedic Hospital 8.9 and Nenagh Hospital 9 out of 10.

According to the survey results, across all six acute sites in the Mid-West, there were high levels of patient satisfaction in the following areas.

• patients being treated with dignity and respect, 8.8
• cleanliness of the environment and wards, 8.8
• pain management, 8.5

HSE Mid-West says there were also areas where improvement is needed, including:

• how it communicates with our patients on discharge, 7
• opportunities for patients to talk to a doctor on the ward, 6.8
• patients able to find someone to talk to about their worries and their fears, 6.1

How doctors and staff communicate with patients on discharge, is an area identified by patients as requiring improvement, despite some improvement in this area since the last survey in 2022.

HSE Mid-West says a number of initiatives are under way to address communications and discharge planning across its six sites, including updating our patient information booklets to incorporate patients’ medication plans and reviewing current discharge documentation to ensure it takes account of the health literacy needs of our patients. 

"Our Patient Advocacy Liaison service can also support patients with worries or concerns. Patients can speak to ward staff to get in touch with PALS," said a spokesperson who added that two further areas in particular have been highlighted in the 2024 results as areas for staff to develop improvement plans.

• providing feedback or making a complaint

• the care experience for patients with a disability or long-term condition

To respond to these two areas, HSE Mid-West says it is in the process of increasing the numbers and the visibility of feedback boxes and also ensuring that ‘Your Service Your Say’ feedback forms and information leaflets are readily available on all sites.

Initiatives to support patients with a disability or long-term condition include staff awareness days and communications training, personalised care plans and increased levels of accessibility on all sites including ensuring sufficient availability of parking spaces and appropriate wheelchair access.

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University Hospital Limerick

Commenting on the survey results, Ber Murphy, Chief Director of Nursing and Midwifery, Mid-West Acute and Older People Services, said: “In 2024, UHL had an overall experience rating of 7.7 up from 7.3 in 2022. We acknowledge that hospitals with a higher proportion of patients being admitted through the Emergency Department, are more likely to have lower levels of patient satisfaction and we strive to improve on the patient experience year on year.

“It is encouraging for our staff that patients continue to provide such positive feedback on our hygiene service and cleanliness on the wards at UHL. Staff in UHL are now focused on other areas for improvement identified by our patients, including discharge planning and also the introduction of an autism and intellectual disability pathway for patients due for launch in early 2025. I would like to acknowledge the work of all of our staff, in UHL and across all acute hospitals for their work on driving these improvements.”

Croom Orthopaedic Hospital

Also commenting, Alan O’Gorman, Director of Nursing, Croom Orthopaedic Hospital, said: “The overall satisfaction rate for Croom was above the national average at 8.9. I would like thank our staff who can be very proud of this result. It was particularly encouraging to see continuing and increased levels of positive feedback from patients relating to pain management, where 95.3% of patients said that hospital staff helped to control their pain, up from 94.6% in 2022.

“Together with colleagues on other acute sites we are looking now to improve how patients can provide feedback and on the experience of those with disabilities and long-term conditions. In Croom we are also looking to see how we can increase the choice of meals provided and will be conducting a full review of our menu with the help of our PALS team.”

St John’s Hospital

Noreen Kennedy, Quality and Patient Safety Manager, St. John’s Hospital, commented: “In this survey, we were pleased to achieve a satisfaction rate of 8.3 at St. John’s, with very high levels of trust and confidence in our staff at 94%. Despite our old infrastructure, we received very positive feedback and scored 9.4 on cleanliness within all areas of the hospital.

“This survey continues to assist us in gaining a better understanding of inpatient experiences in St John’s Hospital and based on the feedback this year we will be looking specifically at introducing missed meal packs to ensure that patients admitted outside of meals times are offered a nutritious meal. This year’s survey has had a positive impact on our teams and similar to colleagues in other hospitals, quality improvement plans arising from the survey results 2024 will focus on continued improvements related to discharge planning and supporting patients in giving feedback”.

Ian Carter, CEO HSE Mid-West Acute and Older People Services said: “Participation in the annual National Inpatient Experience Inpatient Survey is one of the most important means we have of listening to the voice of our patients. I want to thank each and every one of the more than 1,150 patients who completed the survey this year and shared their insights with us.

"Each day, our staff deliver outstanding levels of care to the people of the Mid West and it is heartening to see this reflected in the survey results. It is important that we pay particular attention to those areas where our patients are less satisfied with our services. In all of our hospitals, led by our Quality and Patient Safety team and through our Patient Experience Committees, our staff continue to take a keen interest in the survey results introducing service improvements in response to the feedback.”