Over 80% of patients happy with SUH care



Over 80% of patients at Sligo University Hospital have reported to have a positive experience at the hospital in 2019.

That’s according to a recent survey by the National Inpatient Experience Survey.

The National Inpatient Experience Survey is a nationwide survey that offers patients the opportunity to describe their experience of the public acute healthcare in Ireland.

In Sligo, 421 patients took part in the survey as part of the 12,343 that responded to the report nationally.

The aim of the survey was to find out about patients experiences in acute hospitals and to use their feedback to identify areas of good experience and areas that need improvement.

During the month of May 2019, 421 people in Sligo completed the survey with 47% classified as Male and 53% as female. 330 respondents or 78.4% said they had attended the hospital due to an emergency.

With Sligo hospital reporting to have a higher number of admissions than the national average, the report found that patients were made wait significantly longer to be admitted to a ward than other hospitals alike.

33% of people were admitted to a ward within 6 hours, 61% of patients were reported to be waiting between 6-24 hours while 6% were made to wait over 24 hours to be admitted to a ward. 5 of these patients have reported to have waited over 48 hours for a bed.

This is despite the HSE target guidelines which ensures 75% of all patients should be admitted to a ward within 6-9 hours.

On the topic of care, out of the 14 questions it was only the poor choice of food that fell below the national average. One patient in particular commented “(the) Choice of food (is) poor. Only white bread available. No fresh fruit and veg. Toast and biscuits given out freely.”

Another area that patients where not satisfied with was that of privacy. Privacy when discussing a patient condition or treatment and privacy when being examined or treated fell below the national average.

One patient commented stating “absolutely no privacy when checking in at (the) ED desk – everyone who was in the waiting area could hear what questions were asked by staff at (the) desk and reply of patient. (The) Seating area is far too near the desk.”

And finally, the last area that fell below the national average was that of patients not receiving enough printed information or what and what not to do on leaving the hospital.

Overall, 88% of patients at Sligo University Hospital said they had good or very good overall experiences, compared to the 84% nationally.



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