Publish date: 14 July 2020
Satisfaction with local NHS services at record level
Overall public satisfaction with local NHS services in Northumberland and North Tyneside are at record levels despite the challenges posed by Covid-19, according to the results of the latest research.
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust regularly asks the public for feedback on services and the latest research shows that 94% of respondents said they were satisfied with the services provided by the trust – the highest number since polling began in 2012.
This represented a 10% increase in satisfaction since 2018 with local people praising the quality of care and services they received.
Almost 20% of people felt services had improved in the past five years with the majority confident that things would get even better in the next five.
The Covid-19 pandemic and public lockdown have created significant difficulties for everyone, but the public felt Northumbria Healthcare had managed the coronavirus well with more than 80% saying the handling had been good or very good.
Where people had experienced direct care in the past 12 months satisfaction was above 85% for all hospitals, with North Tyneside and Wansbeck seeing particularly high approval levels (96% and 95%).
Chief Executive Sir James Mackey said: “This has been an incredibly challenging time for NHS staff but this type of praise from the public will come as a real boost for everyone delivering care across the patch.
“We’ve had amazing support from the public, businesses and partners during the pandemic and it’s pleasing to see that our services are rated so highly by the whole community even when facing such challenging circumstances. We’ve worked incredibly hard to ensure we provide the best possible services over a long period of time and will continue to strive for improvements as the country continues into this new phase of recovery.”
To help engage even more closely with the public a new online community has just been set up to get the public involved in local discussions about NHS services.
The new forum is free to join and is a friendly place to engage with others and give feedback through discussions, polls and surveys to help shape local NHS services.