Improving Patient Experience of the PRIME Service: Patient Satisfaction Survey

Introduction

PRIME (Perioperative Review Informing Management in Elective Surgery) is a specialist multidisciplinary pre-operative outpatient service. The clinic caters to patients aged over 65 with complex comorbidities through consultations with a geriatrician, anaesthetist, specialist physiotherapist and specialist occupational therapist. NICE guidelines suggest more emphasis needs to be placed on patient experiences of care(1). A survey of patient satisfaction of the PRIME service was completed to establish if any changes are required to improve patient experience.

Method

Design: Cross-sectional, descriptive anonymous survey.
Participants: All 70 patients who attended PRIME between 16th July and 2nd October 2024 were invited to take part.
Tool: Clinicians developed a survey specific to the PRIME Service; covering satisfaction, communication, well-being, understanding of discussions and outcomes, lifestyle changes, and allowed for free-text responses.
Data Collection: Online Jisc survey or paper responses then entered online.
Analysis: Data was analysed using Microsoft Excel.

Results

Response Rate:   43%
Satisfaction: 97% of patients rated their satisfaction 7/10 or above, 73% gave a satisfaction score of 10/10. 
Communication: 97% of patients felt comfortable communicating with the therapists and doctors.
Well-being: 87% indicated a positive feeling upon leaving clinic.
Understanding of discussions: 90% of patients felt they understood the advice given, 2 comments referenced too much information and it being hard to take it all in especially if hearing impaired. 
Lifestyle changes: 22 patients reported an intention to make a lifestyle change after the PRIME Clinic.
Free-text responses: Quotes from patients will be presented.

Conclusion

Overall, the response to the PRIME Service was positive, with a high patient satisfaction rate. Patients experienced feeling comfortable communicating with clinicians.
As a result of feedback received, we now provide all patients with their standard clinic letter with additional bespoke written information detailing their pre-operative management plan and therapy recommendations.

1NICE Guidelines CG138 (2021)