The sixth National Inpatient Experience Survey gets underway

The sixth National Inpatient Experience Survey gets underway today in all public acute hospitals in Ireland. The survey is part of the National Care Experience Programme, a joint initiative by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Department of Health.

The survey asks people aged 16 years and over who spend 24 hours or more in a public acute hospital, and are discharged during the month of May, for their views on the care they received.

This survey is the largest survey of its kind in Ireland. It offers patients the opportunity to share their experiences of all aspects of their care, such as confidence and trust in hospital staff, care and treatment on the ward, the provision of information and support when leaving hospital, and to highlight what improvements they believe are necessary.

The first National Inpatient Experience Survey took place in Ireland in 2017. Since then, over 61,000 patients have taken part and shared their experiences of hospital care. In 2022, 44% of invited patients responded to the survey, highlighting the strong desire of patients to talk about their experiences in hospital in order to bring about meaningful change. Approximately 27,000 patients are estimated to be eligible to participate in this year’s survey.

The National Inpatient Experience Survey contains a total of 52 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.

To find out more about the survey, watch the short animation here. You can also visit www.yourexperience.ie or follow the National Care Experience Programme on X (Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.