More than a thousand people in Jersey have contributed to the island’s first ever systematic study of the quality of health and care services from the perspective of patients and service users.
The extensive research was carried out by Jersey Care Commission, the island’s independent regulator of the health and social care system. This landmark programme forms part of the Commission’s strategy to drive quality improvement in person centred care by listening to the experiences of Jersey’s citizens.
Jersey Care Commission appointed the healthcare charity Picker Institute Europe to design and run the research programme. Picker is recognised as an independent authority in this field, designing and implementing similar programmes across a number of international health jurisdictions.
The programme captured the experiences of people across the island who have received care from inpatient, maternity, urgent and emergency care, and community mental health services. The survey was distributed to 4,302 people and 1,364 responded, representing a 32% response rate.
A majority of respondents reported a positive overall experience of care across each of the services evaluated, rating their overall experience as 7 or above out of 10:
- 85% of people who used urgent and emergency care services reported a positive experience
- 83% of people treated as a hospital inpatient reported a positive experience
- 79% of recent mothers reported a positive experience of maternity services
- 66% of people who used community mental health services reported a positive experience
Whilst encouraging, the results highlight the significant difference in overall experiences between services. They also go deeper, identifying key areas for improvement both across and within types of health and care services. For example:
- A substantial minority were not as involved in decisions about their care as they wanted to be: only 77% of inpatients said that this ‘definitely’ happened.
- There was substantial variation between services in the proportion of respondents who reported that different members of staff told them different things – ranging positively from 84% in urgent and emergency care to only 36% in maternity services.
Becky Sherrington, Chief Inspector of the Jersey Care Commission, said: “Thank you to all Islanders who completed the survey, as their contributions have provided a valuable understanding of the quality of the care currently being provided by the Health and Community Services Department.
“The results published in this report will help the Commission to prepare for future inspections and will also provide Health and Community Services with an opportunity to learn about what’s working well and where there are areas that improvements need to be made.
“Listening to the voice of patients, families, and carers; is important to the Commission, and should be a key measure of quality assurance for any provider of care. If people routinely have poor experiences, something is not working, and change is needed.
“However, without feedback from the users of the services, providers are blind to where improvement is required. This work means providers can make data-driven decisions to improve care where it’s needed most. Ultimately, by having the survey programme in place, Islanders are empowered to share their concerns and feedback through a transparent and independent channel, allowing Jersey’s Hospital services to reach their full potential in person centred care.”
Jenny King, Picker’s Chief Research Officer, said: “By listening to and acting on feedback from citizens the Health and Community Services team can make sure that improvements to services are being driven by what matters most to people.
“Working with the Commission to realise its aim of putting people’s experiences of care front and centre has demonstrated the shared vision we hold of ensuring that services are centred around people’s needs and preferences.”
