East Cheshire NHS Trust receives praise for A&E care in annual survey

East Cheshire NHS Trust is delighted to be ranked within the top five Trusts in the North West of England region in the 2022 Care Quality Commission (CQC) Urgent and Emergency Care Patient Survey.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) undertakes an annual survey of people who use urgent and emergency care services. The results of the 2022 survey undertaken in December 2022 were released at the end of July 2023. More than 300 patients of East Cheshire NHS Trust responded to the survey. 

Overall, the survey gathered the opinions of 29,357 patients across 122 NHS trusts with a major, consultant-led accident and emergency (A&E) department, including Macclesfield Hospital.  

The Trust scored well on a range of questions assessing the extent of their experiences from arrival at A&E to discharge.

Of the nine sections in the survey covering different aspects of care within the A&E department, East Cheshire NHS Trust has been ranked in the top five Trusts within the North West of England region for seven of the categories - ‘Arrival at A&E’, ‘Waiting’, ‘Doctors and Nurses’, ‘Tests’, ‘Leaving A&E’, ‘Respect and Dignity’ and ‘Care and Treatment.

The Trust was also ranked higher than the national average for ‘Environment and Facilities’ and ‘Overall Experience’.

Kate Daly-Brown, Director of Nursing and Quality at East Cheshire NHS Trust said:

“These results are a testimony to the hard work of all the staff involved in delivering and supporting the service during what was and continues to be a highly pressured and challenging environment.

“I’d like to thank our patients who have taken the time to share their valuable feedback. It is through surveys like this that we can continue to learn from and future-proof our services.” 

The full urgent and emergency care survey results can be found here. 

Please see below a selection of comments from patients who have attended our ED department in recent months:

Fantastic staff 

“I had to attend A&E today after a fall. I was attended to extremely quickly and had an X-ray and was told I had a dislocated shoulder. I was in excruciating pain up until my dislocation to my right shoulder was put back into place. I was informed of the fabulous lady’s name who massaged around my dislocation prior to putting it back into place and I have forgotten her name (very sorry) this lady was amazing and very caring. Thank you to everyone for putting me back together.”

Wonderful caring staff 

“Everyone from reception to nurses and consultants were kind caring and empathetic today. I cannot praise this department enough for their attitude and expertise. Thank you.”

Great practice 

“From the ambulance, A&E and X-ray and scan staff, I was met with kindness and compassion. In particular the trainee practitioner who helped me through the trauma I had experienced with professionalism and kindness.”

Dedicated and attentive

After suffering a heart attack, I was admitted to A&E at Macclesfield Hospital. I had an angiogram procedure carried out, and a stent inserted at Wythenshawe, and I returned to Macclesfield for recovery. I would say that the standard of care and treatment I received whilst I was there was nothing less than outstanding. The dedication, initiative, and sheer professionalism of the staff shone through. They were universally attentive, receptive, and were always there to help, if required.