It’s not how much feedback, it’s how much change

A while back I blogged about the need to move beyond simply collecting data, to using feedback from patients to create change: for example, in boosting staff morale, encouraging personal reflection, making practical improvements to services, or – over time – changing culture.

In some places, we see this happen a lot. Sometimes it is quite wonderful to behold.

But in other places, even with the stories flowing in on Patient Opinion, we see very little evident impact. There may of course be impact that we can’t see. But if we can’t see it, neither can the person who shared their story, or the hundreds of people who read it.

Over the years, I’ve formed some views about the sort of things that seem to be needed for public online feedback to create impact in a service. Here are a few:

Respond personally

Responses which mean something to the patient – and which have a chance of creating impact inside the organisation too – are personal. They are from an identifiable human being, with a name, and ideally a face too. They make it clear that the feedback has been read, considered, and acted on where necessary. They communicate human concern and connection.

Hear from the right people

It’s lovely to hear back from a real person – and even better if it’s the right person. Ideally, a person who understands what the feedback means, why it matters, and what can be done about it. Even more ideally, a person who can do what it is that needs to be done.

Remember that Patient Opinion is built to automatically share feedback with relevant staff right across an organisation. It doesn’t take any extra cost or effort to achieve this – it’s what we do.

Respond practically

Few people want to their feedback simply to be noted, especially if it raises issues of concern. And many stories include enough information to see how things could be improved. If you can see how to use a story to make a difference, why not just do it? That’s satisfying for the patient, and a powerful message to colleagues too: “This is the kind of place where you can make a difference.”

Share widely

Feedback is no use if it isn’t shared. There may be many people in an organisation – and indeed many organisations – who can learn from a single story on Patient Opinion. We share stories automatically with providers, commissioners, patient bodies, regulators, educators and researchers.

And by sharing across organisations, we can address the issues which arise not just within, but between organisations.

Tell your patients, users and carers

If you don’t tell your patients about Patient Opinion, how will they know they can give you feedback? We’ve seen many effective ways to encourage feedback, so if you’re stuck, do get in touch.

Learn from others

More than 90% of trusts in England, and all Scottish public-facing health boards, now use Patient Opinion to some degree. That's a lot of experience to learn from - and to make it easy, we're sharing many experiences online in videos and blogs.

So, to finish up, here's a video from staff at Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS FT. Enjoy!