Patient Opinion:a new approach to public involvement

James Munro

Who is Patient Opinion for?

• For patients
  • to give feedback on their health services
  • to easily see what others are saying
• For health care providers
  • to hear – and respond to – patient concerns and thank-yous
  • to compare their ratings with others

What is available now?

Patient Opinion is available across England
But not (yet) the rest of the UK
It covers all acute trusts
Coming soon:

• Mental health and care trusts
• ISTCs
• Private sector hospitals

Feedback experience so far

• Around 50% of patient feedback positive
• Around 30% mixed
• Around 20% critical
• Usually in a thoughtful way

Feedback management

All opinions are reviewed before publication

• Editorial policy is public and evolving
• Critical opinions are flagged to subscribers
• Patient identity is confidential
• Anti-gaming safeguards are built in

How is Patient Opinion set up?

• A social enterprise
• A not-for-profit business
• Not a charity or a project
• Independent of the NHS
• But sharing NHS values

How is this funded?

• Through subscriptions to the service
• From providers, commissioners and the Healthcare Commission

Subscribers receive

• Access to all Patient Opinion data through custom feeds and reports
• Ability to respond to patient feedback

Public use of Patient Opinion is free

How this fits with policy

• Patient Choice
• Patient-led NHS
• Complements PPI and PALS
• Healthcare Commission standards
• e-government
• Everyday democracy
  

last updated 27/05/06