All patients should have the best possible outcome. Our aim is to care for patients, not just treat them. It is vital that we continue to learn from patient experience so that we can improve the high standards of treatment and care.

We know that our patients’ and families’ perceptions of a good experience is as essential as receiving effective and safe care – this starts from the moment they have their first contact with our services.

We focus on:

• learning from concerns and suggestions
• improving communications with patients so they are fully informed and involved in their care; treating them as an individual, not just as a patient
• improving the physical environment to make it more welcoming and adapted to people’s differing needs
• improving clinical practice so patients can leave hospital quicker to be cared for at home by our community health staff

We are committed to continually improving the quality of the experience of our patients and provide our staff with the skills, quality improvement knowledge and training necessary to deliver safe, effective and high-quality patient care.

Patients have told us that a good patient experience means:

• being treated with honesty, compassion, respect and dignity
• being communicated with and listened to as an equal
• having the right information at the right time to enable the right choices to be made
• consistently receiving good care in a supportive, clinically effective and safe environment and delivered in a confident and reassuring way

A better experience

A better experience forms our ambition of delivering excellent patient care.

Research has shown that a positive experience contributes to a more therapeutic relationship with our patients, improved clinical outcomes, and is more cost effective.

There are strong links between patient experience, clinical safety and clinical effectiveness.

Encouraging improvements in patient experience has also been shown to result in greater employee satisfaction and subsequently reduces staff turnover by making their work experience a better one.

Ensuring patient safety

Patient safety is at the heart of all we do.

We have received numerous accreditations and awards for the safety and quality of our patient services along with having robust safety measures in place which go above and beyond national standard practice.

It is vital that we continue to learn from patient experience so that we can improve the high standards of care provided at Royal Bolton Hospital and our community sites.

We are proud of involving patients in decisions about the services and treatment we provide that is underpinned by the fantastic work that our staff do every day for our patients and their loved ones throughout their treatment and care.

Feedback tells us that many of our patients do have a good experience of care, but we know we don’t always get it right.

We hope that by focusing our attention on constantly ensuring that our patients have a good experience, we will continue to strive for the best.