Patients who stayed overnight as an inpatient at the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle or West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven between January and May 2021 have rated their experience as above the national average.

In the recently published Care Quality Commission’s adult inpatient survey, inpatients were asked what they thought about different aspects of the care and treatment they received.

598 of patients who were discharged following an inpatient stay between January and May 2021 provided a response. Overall the Trust’s response rate is 50.04%. 

For 24 of the questions asked, the score for North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (NCIC) is 5 percent or more greater than the national average score. Top scores included 9 out of 10 for nurses making sure patients felt included and 8.8 out of 10 for patients being able to get attention when needed. Other positive areas included:

  • Patients felt they were treated with respect and dignity whilst they were in the hospital
  • Patients were given enough privacy when being examined or treated
  • Patients have confidence and trust in the nurses treating them
  • Patients have confidence and trust in the doctors treating them

The survey did also highlight areas to be improved upon, including being asked to give views on the quality of the care they had received as an inpatient and for knowing what happens next when leaving hospital.

Over the past year the Trust has been working towards improving the overall experience for patients and have made a number of improvements, including significant investment in our Emergency Departments across both sites which will increase staffing levels and improve patient safety.

Georgia Wright, Deputy Chief Nurse at NCIC said:

“We want to thank those patients who took part in the survey, it’s vital we continue to gather feedback from our patients. It allows us to continuously improve our offering and the service we provide to our communities.  

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our staff, the results are overall very positive and the survey was undertaken during an exceptionally challenging period for our hospitals. Our teams should be applauded for the great work they do on a daily basis.

We will now look at the results in more detail alongside our other patient feedback to identify any trends. We are committed to continually improving and we value our patients’ feedback to help us to do that.”