The Patient Relations team at Blackpool Victoria Hospital
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been selected as a finalist in a national awards scheme about the way patient and staff feedback is used to improve healthcare services.
The Friends and Family Test is a way to find out from patients, quickly and anonymously, how they rate their latest experience of NHS care or treatment. They can provide comments to explain their score and this feedback helps services to focus on areas that need improvement.
As most feedback is positive, the FFT also provides a well-deserved pat on the back from hard-working NHS 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.
There are five categories and the Trust has made the shortlist for the FFT Champions of the Year category.
The entry describes how the Trust has used the FFT data to make changes in a variety of different areas including food menus and the temperature of wards for patients.
Andrew Heath, Head of Patient Experience at the Trust, said: “We are delighted that the work we have done to publicise the benefits of the Friends and Family test has been recognised.
“Patient feedback is vital to us and we are always aiming to speak to as many people as possible who use our hospitals to make sure we can provide the best possible care.
“Our aim is to give every person the opportunity to Tell Us about their experience so that we can use this information to influence the organisation to deliver the best possible care and treatment.’’
Almost 200 entries were received by NHS England. Anu Singh, Director of, 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 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 March 17 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.