Inpatient experience survey

During January and February 2012, the survey is being sent to a random sample of patients who had an overnight stay in a Scottish hospital between October 2010 and September 2011.

Some Questions & Answers

What is this survey for?

The survey asks about your experiences of your recent stay in hospital. The information that you give is important because it will help us to understand more about the quality of services, and what needs to be improved. The results of the survey will be published in late summer 2012 on www.bettertogetherscotland.com

How did you get my name and address?

NHSScotland stores your contact details securely and confidentially under the terms of the Data Protection Act.  We picked names at random from a database of patients who had a recent overnight stay in hospital. Your contact details have been passed to the survey contractor only so that they can send you this questionnaire.  The survey contractor does not have access to information about your medical details and your contact details will be destroyed by the contractor once the survey is completed.

I’ve visited this hospital more than once, which visit should I refer to?

This questionnaire is about an inpatient visit so means that you should have spent one night or more in hospital.  If you have had more than one such visit to the hospital named in this letter then please think about your most recent visit.

I was admitted to one hospital but discharged from another?

As far as possible, please answer the questionnaire based on the hospital named in the letter you were sent (ie the hospital from which you were discharged).

Can someone help me with the survey?

Yes, a relative, friend or carer may help you to fill in the survey, but please remember that all of the answers should be given from your own point of view. If you would prefer, you can give your answers over the phone instead, by calling the FREEPHONE helpline. The phone number is on the front of your survey.  The person on the phone will need you to tell them the number that is on the front of the letter sent to you.

Do I have to answer the survey?

No, taking part is voluntary, and you don’t have to answer every question if you don’t want to. Please fill in as much as you can though, because the more that people answer, the more we can understand about the different experiences of people across Scotland.  If you do not want to receive any more reminders about the survey, please call our FREEPHONE helpline number.

What should I do if the person named in the letter has died?

Please accept our apologies for this.  It may be that the NHS patient records have not been updated in time to stop the survey being sent to this person.  

Where can I leave comments or complain about NHS services in Scotland?

On page 10 of the survey, you can leave comments about your experiences of using your inpatient stay. If you have any other comments about the NHS in Scotland, you can share your story online through the “share stories” link above.

If you want to complain about NHS services in Scotland you can find information about how to do this on the Citizens Advice website here:
http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/scotland/your_family/health_index_scotland/nhs_complaints_scotland.htm

Why is NHSScotland spending money on a survey?

It is important for the NHS to collect the views of the people that use its services.  This survey has been specially developed to ensure that it asks questions which matter to patients.