Launch of the 2019 National Inpatient Experience Survey

The third National Inpatient Experience Survey was launched on the 1st of May 2019 in all public acute hospitals in Ireland. The survey is a part of the National Care Experience Programme, a joint initiative by the independent health regulator HIQA, the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Department of Health.

The National Inpatient Experience Survey is the largest survey of its kind in Ireland and offers patients the opportunity to share their experiences in hospital and tell us what improvements they believe are necessary. This provides a clear picture of the safety and quality of care in Irish hospitals, as seen through the eyes of patients.

An estimated 28,000 patients will be eligible to participate in this year’s survey. Since 2017, over 26,000 patients have completed the survey, making over 40,000 comments on the care and treatment they received in hospital. The high response rate of over 50% in 2017 and 2018 indicate the strong desire of Irish patients to talk about their experiences in hospital in order to bring about meaningful change.

The National Inpatient Experience Survey contains a total of 61 questions on topics such as admission to hospital, care and treatment on the ward, trust in hospital staff, respect and dignity, and discharge from hospital. All patients aged over 16 years-of-age who spend 24 hours or more in hospital and are discharged during the month of May are eligible to participate in the survey.

Rachel Flynn, HIQA’s Director of Health Information and Standards and Programme Director of the National Inpatient Experience Survey said: “It is important that as many patients as possible tell us about their experiences of care so that we can identify what is working well in our hospitals, and where changes are needed.”

“While a number of improvements were identified in the second National Inpatient Experience Survey in 2018, a lot more needs to be done. It is by listening and learning from the experiences of patients that we can bring about effective and sustainable changes across the healthcare sector.”

For further information, please contact:
Marty Whelan, Head of Communications and Stakeholder Engagement
(01) 8147480 / 086 2447623 mwhelan@hiqa.ie

Notes to the editor

• Eligible patients will receive a survey by post approximately two weeks after their discharge from hospital. The survey can be completed in paper form or online, and must be submitted by 5pm on 25 July 2019.
• To be eligible, patients must have a postal address in the Republic of Ireland.
• The full list of participating hospitals can be found here.
• The findings of the 2019 survey will be published in the autumn under the Inpatient section of this website.
• The National Care Experience Programme also includes a new National Maternity Survey, which will be rolled out in early 2020.
• Download the National Care Experience Programme Strategic Plan 2019–2021.