If you have any comments on Hillingdon’s local NHS Trust hospitals, Hillingdon, Royal Brompton and Harefield or Mount Vernon, please contact us here at Hillingdon LINk.

NHS Choices’ website reads:
‘As part of a drive to encourage more patients to give feedback about the care they receive at our hospitals, we have today (9 January 2012) started to publish our latest ratings from the national NHS Choices website on our own website.

With more than 370,000 visitors a day, NHS Choices is the public website for the NHS in England. As well as providing a wealth of health advice and information, patients can use the website to give their opinions about the care they receive in hospital. They can also post an ‘overall’ rating of a hospital by saying whether (or not) they would recommend it to a friend.

In addition, they can give feedback on important issues such as: what they thought of the hospital’s cleanliness; how well doctors and nurses worked together; and if they were involved with decisions about the care they received.

Antony Tiernan, Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs said: “Each year, we see approximately 700,000 patients across our hospitals and we know that the best way to ensure they’re getting the best possible care is to listen to what they have to say.

“NHS Choices is an excellent way for patients to give feedback about the care they have received in hospital, whether they had surgery, came to A&E (accident and emergency) or had an outpatient appointment. It’s really easy to use, takes just a few minutes and, crucially for us, it tells us, day-by-day, how we are doing.

“NHS Choices is just like the popular hotel comparison website TripAdvisor. However, for us it’s far more important, with patients telling us directly about the care they’ve received from our doctors, nurses and other staff. They can also comment on other key issues, such as the cleanliness of the area in which they were treated.”

Paul Burstow, MP for Sutton and Cheam and the Minister of State for Care Services said: “I welcome the Trust’s drive to be even more open about the feedback they receive from their patients and for encouraging local people to use the NHS Choices website as a way of influencing improvements in the care they receive in hospital.

“NHS Choices is an excellent resource and, with so many people having access to the internet via computers and newer technology like iPads and mobile phones, it’s a simple way for hospitals like St Helier, Sutton and Epsom to get almost instant feedback on the care they are providing.”

Our latest ratings

How many of our patients would recommend our hospitals to a friend?

• Epsom Hospital – 77% (based on 27 votes);
• St Helier Hospital – 70% (based on 30 votes);
• Sutton Hospital – 80% (based on 5 votes).

Commenting on our current ratings, Antony added: “According to our latest ratings, the vast majority of our patients would recommend our hospitals to a friend.

“However, whilst these figures compare well with other local and national hospitals, we’re committed to getting our ratings to as close to 100% as possible.

“I’d like to encourage as many of our patients as possible to give their feedback via the NHS Choices website: it not only helps us understand what we are doing well and where we could improve, it also helps other people make an informed choice about which hospital they would like to go to.

“And, if you would like to leave feedback but would prefer not to leave your details, you can remain anonymous.”

Paul Burstow MP added: “It’s good to see that the ratings for St Helier, Sutton and Epsom hospitals are as high as they are, especially when you compare them to other local hospitals and more famous hospitals across the country. However, there is clearly room for improvement, and using the feedback they receive from NHS Choices is a simple way for the Trust to make that happen.”

Other local hospitals

To help people to make easy comparisons and to see how well we are doing, we also publish the ratings of other local hospitals. All ratings will be updated monthly.

South west London

• Croydon Hospital – 33% (based on 39 votes);
• Kingston Hospital – 76% (based on 34 votes);
• St George’s Hospital – 67% (based on 71 votes).

Surrey

• Ashford Hospital – 100% (based on 6 votes);
• East Surrey Hospital – 49% (based on 63 votes);
• Frimley Park Hospital – 91% (based on 141 votes);
• Royal Surrey County Hospital – 68% (based on 25 votes);
• St Peter’s Hospital – 80% (based on 41 votes).’