Views from the waiting room - Outpatients report
Download (PDF 897.15 KB)Summary of report content
Healthwatch North Lincolnshire and Healthwatch North East Lincolnshire conducted a review of the information and communication that patients received before and during outpatient appointments to explore the impact of this on the patient experience.
This project came about after media reports highlighted issues regarding outpatient appointments in North Lincolnshire and increased feedback to both local Healthwatch around waiting times and lost referrals for these appointments.
Information was gathered through face to face interviews at Scunthorpe General Hospital (SGH) and Diana Princess of Wales Hospital (DPoW) with patients waiting to be seen in clinics, as well as online and postal submissions. In total, the two local Healthwatch received 381 completed surveys during the four week period the information was collected. 273 of these were a result of face to face interviews at SGH outpatient clinics; 35 were face to face interviews at DPoW outpatient clinics; and 73 were completed online or returned in the post.
There were many positive aspects of the outpatient experience, where patients described staff as caring, professional and with a helpful attitude towards patients. However, the findings indicates that improvements in the outpatient process are needed. Few appointments were booked at the point of referral such as in a GP surgery. Most patients were told they would be referred for treatment and then waited to receive an appointment letter or phone call with the details. Just over a third of respondents had been told when to expect their appointment details to arrive. Just over half of respondents were not told how long the waiting time was for their particular department.
A quarter of respondents who had a follow up appointment did not get appointment details when they expected them.
A significant proportion of patients were not offered a choice of where to have their treatment, nor were they told who to contact if their condition deteriorated whilst waiting for their appointment which, according to the findings, leads to patients defaulting to A&E.
The report makes three recommendations to the North Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group and the North East Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group around improving the advice that Primary Care providers give to patients about their rights to choice, and expected waiting times.
There were a further nine recommendations made to the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust who operate the hospitals reviewed in this project. These were centred around improving communication throughout the outpatient journey - from making the appointment, through the attendance at the clinic, and what to expect from the procedure and discharge from the clinic.
The report had not been sent to the Clinical Commissioning Groups or the NHS Foundation Trust at the time of publication.