Continued praise for high standards of service in latest survey
Thursday, 22 May, 2014
Latest ambulance patient satisfaction figures reveal nearly 100% are happy with care and treatment.
Patients across the region were asked about how the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EAAST) cared for them, and 98.3% were very satisfied or satisfied with the service received, an increase of 11% on the previous month.
The survey, carried out in February, also revealed 99.2% said they were treated with dignity and respect. Just over 94% felt the way their 999 call was handled was either very acceptable or acceptable, and nearly 91% felt the same for the time they waited for a response.
Patients are surveyed every month by the Patient Experience Team and 125 people responded to questions covering what medical care contact they'd had before calling 999, the wait for an ambulance response, behaviour and attitude of those who attended them, cleanliness, and expectations.
Chief Executive Dr Anthony Marsh welcomed the second set of high patient satisfaction results since he joined in January: "Yet again, it's fantastic to see such great results and that patients are happy with the service we're providing. In some circumstances these patients were extremely ill, with one respondent telling us they owed their life to our staff. "Patient surveys are an important reflection of the standards we strive for. Our staff should be very proud, as I am of them, and I want to thank patients for taking the time to respond as it helps us build the service they want." Patient comments included:
The friendliness and care of the ambulance staff was excellent. Thank you.
Both times I called the service was first class...I would like to thank everyone involved because in my eyes they saved my life.
Very professional care and service. Very friendly and reassuring, couldn't have asked for anything more.
Elsewhere in the survey, 21.6% respondents felt that improvements could be made around how involved they were in making decisions about their treatment, and 6.6% said ambulance service staff could improve the way they introduce themselves.
