Community service again backed by patients

People cared for by Suffolk Community Healthcare, which is run by Serco on behalf of the NHS, have once again given the service a vote of confidence, with 99 per cent of those surveyed saying they would recommend it.

The figures come from the latest round of results from the Friends and Family Test, a nationwide NHS survey which asks people who have received care if they would recommend a service to their family and friends.

Of the SCH patients who responded in June 2015, 100 per cent of those cared for by the four community hospitals (Aldeburgh, Felixstowe, Bluebird Lodge in Ipswich and Newmarket); the Minor Injuries Unit at Felixstowe; the 15 community health teams across the county; treatment in clinics and the Wheelchair Service, said they would be likely, or extremely likely, to recommend the service to family and friends. Overall Suffolk Community Healthcare services received a 99 per cent score from the surveyed patients.

Suffolk Community Healthcare provides a broad range of NHS services closer to home to people with a Suffolk GP, except in the Waveney area.

Chief Executive Abigail Tierney said, “The response we receive from the people we care for is overwhelmingly positive, and is a great tribute to all our hardworking teams. We will never be complacent and strive all the time to improve the experience of our patients. For example, we are working on improving the information we provide to patients, which was flagged up by people we interviewed in depth last year as an area in which we needed to do better.”

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