Ambulance Service up for national award

North East Ambulance Service has been shortlisted for a national award in recognition of its efforts to gain patient feedback about its services.

The service regularly asks for feedback from both patients and staff through a survey called the Friends and Family Test (FFT).

The Friends and Family Test for patients was introduced in January 2015 and is a way to find out, quickly and anonymously, how they rate their care or treatment. They are also able to provide comments to explain their score.

This feedback helps the Trust focus on areas that need improvement. As most feedback is positive, it also provides a well-deserved pat on the back for hard-working staff. 

The FFT Awards 2016 were set up to recognise NHS providers who are going the extra mile in their work to listen to patients and staff. 

In recognition of the efforts North East Ambulance Service goes to in order to gather feedback, it has been shortlisted for the FFT Champion of the Year category.

Mark Cotton, Assistant Director of Communications and Engagement at the North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust said: “The feedback we receive is invaluable to us to help us ensure we give the best possible care to patients across the North East.

“As well as asking how patients would rate our services, we’ve also tailored the FFT to ask questions about the attitude of our staff, the comfort of our vehicles, the emotional support we provide, the timeliness of our service, and the professionalism of our staff.

“It’s great to be able to share so much positive feedback and also discuss areas of our work that we could improve. We share results with staff so that they understand and learn from how patients are feeling about our service.

“We have also developed communications on our website on the theme of “you said, we did” to ensure patients are aware of the changes we have made following their feedback.

“All of our staff work extremely hard for the benefit of patients and awards like this are a great way of recognising those efforts.”

Almost 200 entries were received by NHS England.  Anu Singh, Director of Patient and Public Participation and Insight at NHS England, said:  “We have rolled out the FFT across most NHS services and we wanted to take stock of how it’s working and what benefits it is actually bringing for patients.

“Through entries to the awards, we have found a r rich seam of information about a whole range of improvements, great and small, that make a real difference to how patients feel about their contact with the NHS.  It is really rewarding to see the high level of appreciation that patients show for staff and to see how well many healthcare providers are listening to their patients and trying to continuously improve services.  NHS trusts also conduct a similar feedback scheme for their staff and that too is making a real difference.”

The winners will be announced at a national feedback and insight conference, organised by NHS England, on 17 March and will be simultaneously announced on the news section of the NHS England website.

To learn more about the Friends and Family Test, go to www.nhs.uk/friendsandfamily

To see the latest survey results, please visit www.neas.nhs.uk/about-us/how-we-are-doing/

ENDS