by Louise Doyle
SEVENTY-nine per cent of people admitted to Letterkenny University Hospital said they had a ‘good’ to a ‘very good’ experience, but waiting times for admission needed improvement.
That’s according to the findings of the National Inpatient Experience Survey 2024, published this week by Saolta.
Fifty-two questions, covering experiences from admission through to discharge, to include, admissions, care on the ward and diagnosis.
A total of 970 people admitted to LUH over the survey period were invited to take part, however, 367 took part, a response rate of 38 per cent.
Seventy-nine per cent of people who were admitted to LUH said they had a ‘good’ to ‘very good’ overall experience. This compares to 85 per cent nationally.
‘Care on the ward’ elicited a high response with 74 per cent of people (258 of 349) citing that the hospital room or ward where they stayed was very clean.
But 24 per cent of people (61 out of 257) said they did not find someone on the hospital staff to talk to about their worries and fears.
Score for ‘admissions’ and ‘overall care experience’ were lower in 2024 compared to scores in 2022. Fifty-three per cent of people (140 of 263) said that when they had important questions to ask doctors and nurses in the Emergency Department that they always got answers that they could understand.
Nationally, 27.4 per cent of people waited less than six hours for admission at emergency departments, that figure was 17.8 per cent in Letterkenny.
The percentage of people who waited between six and 12 hours was the same nationally and in Letterkenny, at 32.6 per cent.
However, the figures for waiting 12 to 24 hours were higher in Letterkenny, at 35.9 per cent. This compares to 26.6 per cent nationally.
Eleven per cent of people (39 to 351) indicated that they had a patient safety incident during their hospital stay.
The most common type of patient safety incident experienced by people was a patient fall.
Seventy per cent of people (247 of 352) said that they definitely felt confident in the safety of their treatment and care.
But 14 per cent of respondents (48 out of 344) to the survey said they did not feel there was good communication about their care between hospital staff.
Eighteen per cent of people (56 of 312) did not feel comfortable to speak out at any time about anything that they wished to raise with hospital staff.
Of the 339 people who answered a question on food rating, 86 per cent (291) rated the hospital food as ‘good’ or ‘very good’.
There were some areas that in need of improvement, according to the survey findings.
Of the 263 people who had important questions to ask doctors and nurses in the emergency department, 14 per cent (38) said that they did not get answers they could understand.
A total of 337 people who had important questions to ask a doctor during their hospital stay, 10 per cent (34) said that they did not get answers they could understand.
Of the 353 people who answered a question on confidence and trust in hospital staff, nine per cent (31) said that they did not have confidence and trust in the hospital staff treating them.
These questions scored significantly below average and have a stronger relationship with overall experience.
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