Bristol emergency departments rank in the top 15 nationally for patient experience

The emergency departments (ED) at Southmead Hospital and Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI) have received praise from patients in this year’s Care Quality Commission (CQC) Urgent and Emergency Care Patient survey, with both hospitals ranking in the top 15 of NHS trusts nationally for patients’ views of their overall experience.

Patients who attended the 120 Emergency Departments in England during February 2024 were invited to complete the survey, providing feedback on their experiences

Maria Kane, Joint CEO of North Bristol NHS Trust and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, which run the hospitals, said: “I am delighted to see such fantastic feedback from patients about their experience when visiting our Emergency Departments, and I am especially proud to see both of our services ranking in the top 15 nationally.”

The BRI is ranked in the top 10 and Weston General Hospital’s emergency department has also been praised by patients, ranking in the top 35 of NHS trusts nationally.

Patients who visited both emergency departments said they were impressed by the teams' communication and reported their care, treatment and the hospital environment were better than expected.

Professor Deirdre Fowler, Chief Nurse and Midwife at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The results of the survey reflect the care and hard work of colleagues in our emergency departments. I am so proud the people in our care feel positive about their overall experience.

“The teams work extremely hard to deliver the best care possible in challenging circumstances, and the fact patients are praising how they communicate with them shows how much heart they put behind everything they do.”

More than 270 people responded to the survey, which was published on Thursday (21 November).

Areas where colleagues were considered above average were:

• Providing help with a condition or symptoms while people were waiting 

• Making sure there was enough time for doctors or nurses to discuss their condition and treatment.

• Helping people in our care take their medications for pre-existing conditions.

• Explaining test results in a way people can understand before they left the emergency department.

• Telling patients who to contact if they were worried about their condition or treatment after they left the emergency department.

UHBW scored about the same or better, when compared to other trusts, for every single question, but we are committed to continuously improving our patients’ experience wherever we can. As well as developing areas of good practice we will focus on the areas of improvement identified such as keeping patients up to date around waiting times, providing more information about new medications and giving patients the opportunity to discuss their concerns.

The patients surveyed attended our emergency departments in February 2024.

The CQC rating for University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust remains Good overall.

The report has been published on the CQC website.