Patient feedback guidance published by DoH

Guidance to support the NHS collect patient feedback has been published by the Department of Health (DoH).

Named Patient Reported Outcome Measures (Proms), the paper was first proposed in June last year, as part of health minister Lord Darzi’s High Quality Care for All report.

Patients will provide answers to questions on their quality of life, both before and after an operation, which will then be used to decipher any improvement to their health.

Guidance in the Proms will explain how data should be collected, along with roles and responsibilities of affiliated organisations that are involved in the delivery of the survey.

Lord Darzi said the scheme will “strengthen commissioning across the NHS by offering PCTs the evidence they need to buy the best services based on patient experiences.”

“Routine collection of Proms will enable clinical teams to benchmark their performance,” he added.

Last month, research commissioned by the DoH revealed a third of people are unaware of the risks of hepatitis C.