Patient Experience and Involvement
What is patient experience?
Patient Experience is how a patient (or their relative /carer) perceives the care they receive. This includes:
- What a patient experiences, for example, how a member of staff communicates with them or getting timely access to appointments.
- How that made them feel; Did they feel treated with dignity and respect? Did they feel they were spoken to in a sensitive way? Did they feel like they were listened to?
Our aim is to ensure that patient experience at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust is excellent for everyone, whether that be as a patient, carer, care partner or member of the public.
The experience you receive is important to the Trust, and we consider patient experience to be central to all we do as we strive to provide safe, high-quality care across all the services we provide.
We welcome your support in providing feedback as this helps the Trust to continually improve patient experience. Your feedback supports the Trust to understand where we are getting the service right and where we can make improvements. Your suggestions for where and how improvements can be made are important to us and helps the Trust to ensure patients and what is important to them remains at the centre of all we do.
How do we collect feedback?
At Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, we routinely collect feedback in several ways from patients, relatives and carers which provides us with valuable information to assess the quality of our services and identify things that require improvement. These include:
- The NHS Friends and Family Test
- National Patient Experience Surveys
- Local patient experience surveys
- Compliments, complaints, and concerns
- Engagement and involvement with patients, families and carers who have recent lived experience of our services.
Feedback is also picked up through other means such as:
- Thank you cards
- Healthwatch reports
All the feedback the Trust receives is reviewed and the Patient Experience and Involvement Group which is led by the Chief Nurse Lindsay Rudge. Listening continually to the people and communities we care for, supports the Trust to identify priorities for improvement.
National Patient Surveys
We receive feedback from a programme of National Patient Surveys. You can see the results from the latest surveys through the National Patient Survey Links:
Adult inpatient Survey 2023, published August 2024
Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust - Care Quality Commission
Urgent and Emergency Care National Patient Survey 2024
Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust - Care Quality Commission
Maternity National Patient Survey 2024
Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust - Care Quality Commission
Children and young people’s survey 2020 published December 2021
Children and young people's survey (nhssurveys.org)
Whilst the surveys provide the Trust with helpful feedback, it can take a long time between the feedback being given and the results being received at the Trust.
The National Friends and Family Test
The Friends and Family test is a national feedback tool that offers patients the opportunity to provide feedback on the care and treatment they received. We use the Friends and Family Test to collect feedback in the following services:
- Inpatient wards
- Childrens services
- Maternity
- Community
- Emergency Departments
- Outpatients
It involves answering just one question: How likely are you to recommend our services to friends and family if they needed similar care or treatment?
Answers range from extremely likely to extremely unlikely and it also gives the opportunity to provide comments about what went well and what can be improved.
The results are shared monthly with our Trust colleagues and nationally.
You can complete the Friends and Family Test online here:
Patient experience and what we do with your feedback - CHFT (cht.nhs.uk)
What you've told us and how this has helped shape or improve our services - April 2025
We are committed to keeping the people and communities who use our services are at the heart of everything we do. We prioritise listening to and involving patients, carers and members of the public to enable us to make changes, develop services, and improve the experience people receive and improve health outcomes.
You can read about some of the things people and communities have told us over the last three months and the action we have taken in response.
As well as working with our volunteer Experts by Experience and Patient Safety Partners (some are pictured above and you can read more below), we work in partnership with other organisations to make improvements such as Healthwatch, the Local Authority and Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Organisations. Working together helps the Trust to support patients, carers and members of the public as we recognise that your experience can be shaped by the care and support you receive from a number of organisations.
Between January and March 2025:
We heard: Contacting the Audiology (Hearing) department is difficult as the phone is often engaged. This made it difficult to report repairs and problems with hearing aids and also sort appointment issues.
We have: Installed a new phone system, and have had no further complaints regarding contacting the department.
We heard: People undergoing procedures at Broad Street Plaza in Halifax asked for a picture on the ceiling to look at, to help with their nerves and provide distraction.
We have: Installed several picture tiles to improve the experience patients have whilst undergoing procedures.
We heard: The signs in the Broad Street Plaza are too high for people using wheelchairs to see. The size of the writing is small on some, and a number are difficult to read as they have black writing on a silver background.
We have: Asked our Estate Team to lower the position of signs, increase the text size and change the colours so that the signs are accessible and easier to read. We expect the improvement to be in place by Spring 2025.
We heard: The intercom at the entrance door to one of our inpatient wards was broken, resulting in people finding it difficult to visit their loved ones at times.
We have: Installed a doorbell which has removed the issue and has provided more opportunities for staff to welcome visitors to the ward as they answer the doorbell in person.
We heard: That children are waiting a long time for their speech and language assessments.
We have: We have partnered with Mable, a digital platform with access to around 50 Speech and Language Therapists who can offer flexible assessments at families’ convenience. This is making a significant improvement for the number of children who are waiting.
We heard: Children would like more play activities whilst they are within our hospital settings.
We have: Trained volunteers and purchased additional resources to improve the play activities available to Children.
We heard: It is important to children that their parents have meals whilst they stay with their children who are in hospital
We have: Set up a working group to improve the children’s menu and make sure resident parents and carers are fed via a voucher scheme for the café or hospital restaurant, or for a microwave meal on the ward if they do not want to leave their child.
We heard: It is important to people that they can receive visits from the people they want, in person and at a time which suits them when they are in hospital.
We have: Opened visiting on both hospital sites to be as flexible as possible. Most areas have recommended visiting times (we collected more than 500 pieces of feedback in 2024 around our visiting arrangements). Whilst in most areas the recommended visiting times are 10am to 8pm, people are encouraged to speak with the Nurse in Charge if they wish to have a visit outside of these times and we will do our best to make sure the visit can take place.
We were supported by Healthwatch who engaged with local communities around changes to visiting. Here is a link to their report called Opening Doors: Enhancing Hospital Visits for Patients, Visitors, Carers, and Staff
How do I provide feedback to the Trust?
To receive your feedback and support the Trust to act upon it in a timely manner, you can speak with a member of the team providing your care, or we have a number of additional ways in which you can share your feedback.
Our Patient Advice and Liaison Service are here to listen and respond to your experiences and help us improve your care and our services in the future.
You might want to contact us if you want more information or advice about your care, or you wish to pay a compliment or give general views about your care, or you may wish to make us aware of your concerns or make a complaint.
We value your opinions and recognise the importance of your experiences. We appreciate that sometimes we make mistakes. Your feedback to us is very valuable and will help us to improve our services.
You can contact PALS on 01484 343800 or email patientadvice@cht.nhs.uk
Further information can be found by clicking this link: Patient Advice and Complaints Service - CHFT (cht.nhs.uk)
Care Opinion is a national independent feedback platform for health services. The Trust can hear your feedback on this site, whether as a patient, visitor, relative or carer. You can access this website via this link Care Opinion
Can you be the voice for patients and service users across Calderdale and Huddersfield? A message from our Chief Nurse, Lindsay Rudge
Experts by Experience and Patient Safety Partners
We are seeking volunteers to join our Trust to strengthen how we can hear and use your feedback. These volunteers will be known as Experts by Experience, as we recognise how important working in partnership with patients, carers and members of the public is, to helping us make changes which improve the care everyone receives from us.
As a volunteer Expert by Experience, you will be supported to play a vital role in helping us understand how it feels to access our services, or to care for someone who does, and to ensure that the voice of patients, carers or service users is represented and heard at the Trust.
We also have volunteers who work with our patient safety team, known as Patient Safety Partners. Their focus is particularly on activities which improve patient safety.
To learn more about the difference you can make within the role of an Expert by Experience or Patient Safety Partner please see more below, including a message from our Chief Nurse, Lindsay Rudge about the roles.
You can also contact the Patient Experience Team via email: PatientExperience@cht.nhs.uk for more information.
More information on Experts by Experience
Be the voice for patients and service users across Calderdale and Huddersfield.
What is an Expert by Experience?
People sharing their experience and knowledge with us here at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust (CHFT) are often called Experts by Experience. As a volunteer Expert by Experience, you will be supported to play a vital role in helping us understand how it feels to access our services, or to care for someone who does, and to ensure that the voice of patients, carers or service users is represented and heard.
As a volunteer, out of pocket expenses will be paid in line with Trust policies.
Do I need any experience?
You may have experience as a patient, carer, care partner or member of the public. We ask that your knowledge and experience of using the services at the Trust is within the last five years. It is essential that you can put forward the views of all our patients across our communities, and not only your own opinion.
What is expected?
Experts by Experience can volunteer to become involved in various tasks and programmes of work, and for a flexible number of hours. There will be opportunities to work with us at one of our sites, as well as remotely by Microsoft Teams or, for example, by reviewing information and sharing their thoughts.
Some ways in which Experts by Experience can support the Trust include:
- Working within specific groups and committees to ensure the voice of the patient/carer is heard
- Sharing their lived experience to support learning and development
- Supporting the staff recruitment process
- Helping to design patient pathways or services
- Getting involved in quality issues and improving standards
What can we offer you?
- Training and induction to help you to fulfil your role
- Provide a mentor/buddy who will support you and a named contact at the Trust for any queries or support
- An opportunity to develop new skills
- An opportunity to help improve the experience and quality of care provided at CHFT
For further information please contact: patientexperience@cht.nhs.uk or our Matron for Patient Experience on 07825 054 782.
You can also register your interest using this form https://forms.office.com/e/rJPzLhnQ0B and a member of the team will be in touch.
More information on Patient Safety Partners
Be the voice for patients, carers or care partners across Calderdale and Huddersfield.
What is a Patient Safety Partner?
A Patient Safety Partner (PSP) supports activities to improve patient safety at Calderdale and Huddersfield Foundation Trust (CHFT). PSPs represent the voice of the patient, ensuring they are at the heart of everything we do, by challenging us when things go wrong and helping us to make improvements.
PSPs can be patients, carers or care partners. All we ask is that your experience of using our services or being a loved one or a carer for a patient, is within the last five years.
This is a voluntary role, but out of pocket travel expenses will be reimbursed.
Do I need any experience?
Other than having recent experience of using our services as either a patient, carer, or a care partner, no experience in this role is necessary. We do ask that you have a genuine desire to support patient safety and improvement at CHFT. We are especially keen to include people who have an awareness of the experiences and perspectives of our communities. For example, people who have difficulty accessing health services due to disability, financial difficulties, or health conditions.
What is expected of PSPs?
- Attending meetings and committees relating to patient safety, challenging our thinking in a constructive and positive way
- Involvement in patient safety training for our staff
- Speaking to patients, their carers and families to ensure the patient voice is heard
- Engaging with the wider community and/or groups of patients
- Participating in investigation oversight groups
- Involvement in patient safety improvement projects
- Commit to approximately 8-10 hours a month. We aim to be as flexible as possible
What can we offer you?
- Provide training and induction to enable you to fulfil your role
- Provide a mentor/buddy who will support you and have regular meetings with you
- Offer regular peer support meetings
For further information contact Sharon Cundy, Head of Quality and Patient Safety on 07285 460 078. Or email patientexperience@cht.nhs.uk
You can also register your interest through this form https://forms.office.com/e/rJPzLhnQ0B and one of the team will be in touch.
