‘ON THE Sixth DAY OF CHRISTMAS CARE OPINION GAVE TO ME, Scotland'S TALES, shaping healthcare's glee.’
The Gift of feedback - Reflecting on a year of Care Opinion in Scotland
Care Opinion in Scotland has been going from strength to strength in 2023. We are seeing increased engagement from the public, increased engagement from staff and services and we are delighted to announce that, less than 9 months into the financial year, we have already surpassed the total number of stories received in the whole of 2022/23. This article was written on the 8th of December, and by that date, so far, we had already received 7,045 stories about NHS Scotland and Health & Social Care Partnership (HSCP) Services from across Scotland. This is an increase of more than 5% from 2022/23, with more than 3 months still left to go of 2023/24.
But it’s important to remember that there is a person behind every one of these stories. They have taken the time to provide services with the gift of feedback, because they want praise services and/or offer feedback when things did not go so well. This gift of feedback helps services know what they are doing well so they can reinforce these practices and make changes and improvements when things did not go so well for people.
As an author reflected on Care Opinion:
"It is a pleasure to be able to give feedback as a channel for giving personal thanks as well as providing positive information for other patients and relatives."
The hard work of Health Boards and HSCP’s encouraging patients, service users, family members and carers to provide feedback throughout 2023 so far has been remarkable and this has been reflected in the number of stories services across the country have received. We are delighted to see how much this feedback has meant to services, how they are using this feedback and the great benefits staff have reported when it comes organisational culture and staff motivation. One of our subscribers reflected:
"Listening to our patients, their families and carers, and hearing about their experience of care is extremely important to us. Care Opinion provides us with the opportunity to gather real time feedback and open a two-way dialogue. Person centred care can only be delivered by listening to patients and carers and finding out what matters to them.”
Our Scotland team have been so encouraged by the interactions we have had with both story authors and staff in services alike throughout 2023 and I wanted to end this blog with a quote from our very own Krisztina Patocs, which I think sums up our year very well:
“These stories have shown me the incredible impact that healthcare professionals can have on people's lives, how genuine care and compassion can make a world of difference. They have taught me about the resilience and strength of individuals facing health challenges and the power of their voices in shaping the quality of care. These stories remind me of the human connection that lies at the heart of healthcare, and this inspires me to continue advocating for person-centred approaches."
As we head into the Christmas season and wave goodbye to 2023, we would like to thank all the people in Scotland who provided the gift of their stories on Care Opinion and also to the staff and services who engaged with this feedback to help make health and care services better for everyone.
