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Patients rate experience at Sheffield Hospitals as among top 20% in NHS

 A national inpatient survey has found that patients at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust rate their experience of care in hospital as among the best in the NHS.

Results for the 2023 Adult Inpatient Survey, carried out by the Care Quality Commission, gave the Trust a score of 9.3 for patients being treated with respect and dignity, and 9.2 for being treated with kindness and compassion.

The results place the Trust in the top 15 of all general acute and combined NHS Trusts.

Jane Bethea’s son Toby, aged 20, was treated at the Northern General Hospital after being seriously injured in a road traffic accident.

After being assessed in the Emergency Department and undergoing surgery, he was treated on the critical care unit for six days.

Jane said: “On 2nd August I received the phone call that every parent dreads, telling me that my son had been in a serious road traffic collision and had been taken to the Northern General Hospital. His injuries were extensive and on arrival he was expertly assessed by ED staff and then went into surgery, where the wonderful Mr Al-Mukhtar operated on him. He then went into ITU at the critical care unit, via recovery which is where we saw him for the first time.

“In recovery we were greeted by the most compassionate nurse, she talked to me and reassured me when I was almost hysterical, making us feel he was in capable hands. I wish I had taken her name but can only say that the next day whilst me and my husband sat bewildered and anxious outside a coffee shop, she took the time to come and sit with us on her way home to ask about our son and to tell me how wonderful his surgeon was. That kindness will always stay with us.

“Our son then spent 6 days on E floor in critical care, receiving one to one care from the most wonderful, skilled and compassionate staff. Everyone from the reception staff, the trauma team, nurses, doctors and the lovely lady that made us cups of tea were just incredible and treated us with a kindness that felt very comforting. Mr Al-Mukhtar came every day, he was so professional but also funny and friendly. The nurses told me he how wonderful he was and how much they liked and respected him.

“On his final day in critical care, a wonderful nurse called Steph came in on her day off to drive down to Nottingham in the ambulance with our son. This really helped him as he was understandably very anxious about the drive. This was the same nurse who along with two other members of staff, took me aside to tell me how polite and lovely my son was. This was hugely important to me but also made me think that these wonderful staff are not always treated with the respect they so clearly deserve.

“I spent so many hours wandering around the site, and staff often just chose to sit down and chat with me. I met one lady who told me she loved working for the Trust, and that she looked forward to coming to work every day. Our son is progressing every day and that is in no small part due to the care he received. We want all the teams that supported us to know how amazing they have been.”

Chief Nurse, Professor Chris Morley, said: “We are pleased that the survey shows the majority of our patients are happy with the overall quality of their care and experience, which reflects the hard work of all our teams. We are fortunate to have 19,000 colleagues across our hospital and community services who work hard every day to provide the best care they can, and this survey recognises that commitment. This story is just one example of their kindness and professionalism.

“However, we are never complacent, and we know there are always areas where we can do better. For example, patients had told us previously that they were sometimes kept awake at night by too bright lighting or noise on their ward. We made changes and I am pleased that this year the score for this has improved. We also needed to do more to explain why patients had to move wards, which we have done. This new survey also highlights areas for further improvement, and we will now work with our teams to look how we can address these.”