Patients give top marks to popular Plymouth hospital

Patients who attended a popular Plymouth hospital in November have given it a score of 97.7% in a national audit which asks “would you recommend this hospital to friends and family?”

Since March the team at Practice Plus Group Hospital Plymouth (formerly Peninsula NHS Treatment Centre) have constantly changed the way the hospital operates to support the local NHS trust and its patients through the pandemic while reintroducing and maintaining elective (planned) treatment.

While there has been much change one thing has remained constant, and that is the popularity of the hospital among its patients - a fact borne out by the latest results from the national Friends and Family Test (FFT).

Throughout November the hospital was scored by 487 patients, 97.72% of whom would recommend it to their family and friends. Its ophthalmology service achieved a score of 100%, a score it has maintained each month for the past five months.

All providers of health care are required to carry out the Family and Friends Test as part of the NHS’ commitment to improving the patient experience. The results of the test rest on the level to which a patient would recommend a health care facility to their nearest and dearest.

The team at the hospital are working hard to keep it a safe, low-risk COVID environment. As a result they are encouraging patients to keep appointments unless told otherwise or if they have been in contact with someone with coronavirus, are displaying the symptoms of the coronavirus, have tested positive or have been contacted by the NHS Track & Trace Service.

Practice Plus Group Hospital Plymouth is well known for the quality of its patient experience and was the first hospital of its kind to achieve a rating of ‘Outstanding’ from the Care Quality Commission. Comments from patients posted on Facebook include: “I really wouldn’t want to go anywhere else”; “Excellent care from the moment I stepped through the door”; “The standard of medical care from doctors and nurses was outstandingly good”, and; “I have had several treatments at the hospital and the care and respect they give to patients is outstanding.”

Margaret Mahoney, Head of Nursing and Clinical Services at Practice Plus Group Plymouth commented: “The FFT survey is just one of the measures we use to help us continue to improve and develop the outstanding care we provide our patients. My thanks go to our patients who took the time to complete the FFT survey, and to my colleagues who have maintained exceptional standards of care while rising to unique challenges.”

www.plymouthpeninsulahospital.nhs.uk