Recent coverage by the BBC highlighted the success of Dr Foster Intelligence’s Patient Experience Tracker (PET) handsets. The PET handsets have recorded over one million patient responses in the last 12 months in over 60 NHS organisations across the country.
One programme showcased new usage of PET at three GP surgeries in the Brighton and Hove area while the other showcased the work being done at the Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Health secretary Alan Johnson followed his recent comments on gathering NHS patient feedback with a tour of the successful Homerton programme.
Brighton and Hove PCT recently introduced PET to three of their surgeries to collect instant patient feedback. The scheme has been welcomed by patients. One patient said “It sounds like a good idea. If they have the right feedback, hopefully they can offer us a much better service.” Over the next 12 months the scheme will be trialled in several Brighton surgeries.
The Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust uses 36 of Dr Foster Intelligence’s Patient Experience Tracker (PET) handsets. Alan Johnson says that in the next year, he would like every hospital in the country to be gathering real time patient feedback. Jennie Negus, Homerton’s deputy director of nursing, said that patients "value the opportunity to give their feedback."
The BBC also spoke to BUPA; the organisation has been gathering patient feedback for a decade and urges the NHS to follow its lead. The Picker Institute, however, urges caution.
"The main worry is a lack of coherence as we start to generate a whole new set of ways of measuring the patient experience," said Picker’s head of policy, Don Redding.
Read more about Dr Foster’s PET handsets and view the BBC coverage in Brighton and Hove and the Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
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