Patient experience

Friends and Family Test

We are part of a nationwide initiative known as the Friends and Family Test (opens in a new window) which gives us - and other NHS organisations across the country - an even greater insight into the experience our patients have of our services, and what they think of us.

We offer all our patients the opportunity to answer one simple question: "Thinking about the service we provide, overall how was your experience of our service?"

You are asked to respond from a number of options from "Very good" to "Very poor". You will also have the opportunity to tell us the main reason for the answer you give, as well as tell us what we could do to improve. You can find out more about the Friends and Family Test (FFT) by visiting www.nhs.uk/friendsandfamily (opens in a new window).

Responding to the Friends and Family Test

People are able to respond to the Friends and Family Test in a number of ways:

• Text message (if you would like to opt out of this service, please speak to a member of staff or reply to the text message you receive with the word 'STOP')
• Automated phone message (if you would like to opt out of this service, please speak to a member of staff)
• Feedback card (available in the Emergency Department, and all inpatient and outpatient areas)
• Online.

The  asks a simple question to gauge the experience patients had using our services. The question asks: How likely are you to recommend our services to friends and family if they need similar care or treatment? Patients are asked to respond from a number of options from "extremely likely" to "extremely unlikely" and will have the opportunity to tell us what was good about your care and what could be improved. 

We measure the number of patients who respond to the FFT, as well as the percentage of patients who gave a positive ('very good' or 'good) or negative score ('poor' or 'very poor'). Prior to April 2020, the positive and negative score were known respectivaly as the recommend score and not recommend score).

Notes: Inpatients also includes day cases. Data from March 2020 was not reported nationally due to suspension of national submission and majority of FFT activity due to response to COVID-19 pandemic.

March 2024

Feb 2024