What you told us about hospitals: August 2023 to July 2024

Between August 2023 and July 2024, Healthwatch Oxfordshire heard from 399 people about their experience of using hospital services at the John Radcliffe, Horton General, Churchill and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre. This feedback was received by phone, email, via online and paper ‘Have your say’ forms, as well as through conversations at regular outreach visits to the four hospitals.

This report summarises what Healthwatch Oxfordshire heard, with main themes including:

• People valued and appreciated the high quality of care they received. They described professional, kind and caring staff, and experiences of being seen quickly or on time. People also talked about the importance of good communication, including being kept up to date about care and staff explaining things in an accessible way.
• The most common problem mentioned was waiting for care – including waiting for a referral, for care once at the hospital, for test or scan results, or for an appointment that had been cancelled. Healthwatch Oxfordshire also heard about problems with quality of care and communication.

The report does not make recommendations but has been shared for information with Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH), which runs the four hospitals, and with Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (BOB ICB).