Our latest survey of patients’ experiences of healthcare shows that when patients are with a healthcare professional their experiences were generally positive. But it also shows many respondents struggled to access the healthcare they needed in the previous six months.

Other findings from the survey are:

• Most people had positive experiences when dealing with healthcare staff
  • Three out of five (62%) felt they had been listened to and taken seriously
  • Two out of three (67%) said the staff they had dealt with were understanding and compassionate
• More than half (56%) said they had been included in decisions about their care and treatment
• There was a mixed response when asked about how well their care had been coordinated between different parts of the NHS
  • Around a third (35%) said their care had been well coordinated, compared to third (34%) who disagreed
  • About two fifths (38%) felt they had been kept informed about what was happening with their care, a third (33%) did not
• Half (50%) of respondents had struggled to contact the service they needed
• Half (50%) reported a long wait for appointments
  • Nearly a third (30%) reported problems getting to see the professional they felt they needed
  • Nearly a fifth (18%) said they had struggled to get any help at all when trying to access services
• More than half (53%) said that had been given the information they needed to care for themselves, or were able to find that easily
  • But a quarter (26%) said they hadn’t received this information, which is a concern to us
• Among respondents who said their health and care needs affected their day-to-day lives, more than half (53%) said the impact of those needs on their mental health meant they were unable to perform day-to-day tasks
  • Also in this group of respondents, just under half (47%) said their health and care needs make them feel lonely or isolated
  • There was a negative impact on relationships with family and friends for 2 out of 5 (40%)
• Remote consultations work for some people – around 1 on 10 – but many more said they preferred face-to-face appointments.

Patient partnership

As our strategic focus is patient partnership in the design and delivery of health and care services, we asked respondents how confident they were that the health and care system would work in partnership with them in the future. Results show a lack of confidence: just over a third (37%) said they are not very confident and just under a third (30%) are not confident at all.

The survey was launched at the end of January and open for three weeks. Nearly 2,000 people completed it. The results tell us about their preferences, the positive and negative experiences they had, and the impact of their health and care needs on their daily lives.

Read the full patient experience winter survey report and the methodology and data tables.

Download the survey infographic.

How you can support the findings of this report
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Help us campaign for improved services for all patients by joining the Patients Association - it's easy to do and free  
If you live in England, find out if your local GP practice has a Patient Participation Group – think about joining it or supporting its work.