The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published the results of its annual urgent and emergency care survey.

Patients were surveyed after visiting our A&Es in February this year. Of those eligible, 281 took part – a 23.84% response rate. Their feedback, together with the feedback we receive from the friends and family test (completed by several hundred patients each month) will help us to continue to make the improvements that matter most to patients.  

You can find our report on the CQC website.

Our Chief Executive, Matthew Trainer, said:

We’re disappointed our results don’t reflect the work we’ve been doing to improve the experience for patients in our A&Es, but we know too many people still face long waits in our overcrowded Emergency Departments.

Until we get the money we need to build a bigger A&E at Queen’s Hospital in Romford people will continue to face delays, and some patients will spend the night on beds in corridors. A department built for 300 patients can’t cope with 600-plus a day without making compromises.

We are listening to our patients’ concerns to try to improve while we continue to ask for the funding our residents and staff deserve. This includes running a training programme led by our matrons to improve how we communicate with patients; and looking at how we support our most vulnerable patients when they return home.