Out of Hours Community GP Service leads the way on the Friends and Family Test The Community GP out of Hours team at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust has been first to adopt an innovative new touchscreen device for measuring patient experience, including the Friends and Family Test.
The Toshiba TCxFlight - supplied by Patient Insight Specialists CRT - doubles as a desk-mounted kiosk and a mobile tablet. This enables it to be securely positioned within out of hours centres or travel with GPs on home visits. Community care providers are required to apply the Friends and Family Test from the 1st of January 2015. As an early implementer of leading-edge technology, the Harrogate unit will be comfortably ahead of NHS England’s deadline. For the first six months, the Out of Hours team will work closely with CRT to refine their patient surveys and reports. Patients will be asked to rate various aspects of the GPs service, including the helpfulness and communication skills of staff and if sufficient time was given to discuss their condition and treatment. Matt Walker, the trust’s Specialty Manager – Unscheduled Care (GP OOH and MIU) explained: “CRT is very accommodating and shares lots of ideas around what we can achieve with their feedback solution. We had a positive relationship from the beginning; the sales team really understood what we wanted and showed us how to do it. The system is simple to use, from the perspective of both patients and staff. We like the patient experience reports, which are clear and easy to produce. The potential of our new system is exciting and will allow us to focus on what matters most to our patients without the burden of data crunching.“ Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust cares for the population of North Yorkshire and York and North East Leeds by providing essential hospital and a wide range of community health services.