Table 3 Mean scores on VHES questions in 2016 and 2018 responses

Overall patient experience

93.60

93.36

1.12

Discharge planning

80.77

79.95

1.68⁺

Physical environment

93.72

93.45

1.32

Patient-Staff communication

87.75

87.01

2.07*

Respect & dignity

94.20

93.59

2.93***

Emotional support

89.45

88.53

1.76⁺

Treatment & disease education

86.26

86.13

0.22

VHES questions with significant differences between 2016 and 2018

t

How would you rate the politeness and courtesy of admissions staff?

95.44

94.90

3.09^**

Did you feel friends and family were welcome to visit you?

97.26

96.50

2.91^**

Were the nurses treating you compassionately?

94.76

93.96

2.86^**

Were the doctors treating you compassionately?

92.95

92.18

2.32^*

If you needed to talk to a nurse, did you get the opportunity to do so?

89.54

88.46

2.79^**

How would you rate how well the doctors and nurses worked together?

86.97

86.27

2.65^**

Did you see hospital staff wash their hands, use hand gel to clean their hands, or put on clean gloves before examining you?

90.80

89.54

3.01^**

Do you think the time you had to wait from arrival until you were taken to your room or ward was?

88.35

87.22

2.52^*

At other times during your hospital stay did you have enough privacy?

90.52

89.57

2.47^*

VHES questions with lowest scores

t

If you needed to talk to a doctor, did you get the opportunity to do so?

82.22

81.43

1.44

How would you rate the hospital food?

79.60

79.28

0.88

Did you feel you were involved in decisions about your discharge from hospital?

77.61

76.23

2.30^*

How much information about your condition or treatment was given to your family, carer or someone close to you?

69.08

70.01

1.15

Did you receive copies of communications sent between hospital doctors and your GP?

66.90

66.03

1.42