NICE is an independent organisation responsible for providing national guidance on promoting good health and preventing and treating ill health.

NICE is committed to involving patients, carers and the public in the development of its guidance and other products. By involving the very people for whom the guidance will be relevant, we put the needs and preferences of patients and the public at the heart of our work.

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27th March 2012

Clinical guidance (CG138) and quality standard: Patient experience in adult NHS services: improving the experience of care for people using adult NHS services.

In February, NICE published clinical guidance and a quality standard on patient experience in adult NHS services.

Quality standards define the very best clinical care and practice across a topic/disease area in the form of concise, easy to understand statements that describe aspirational but achievable care. The standards are tools to aid healthcare professionals across the NHS in making decisions for their patients, based on the latest evidence from NICE guidance and NHS Evidence accredited sources. They are produced in collaboration with the NHS and social care, along with their partners and service users.

Patient experience is increasingly being recognized as important in healthcare, and can be as significant as clinical outcomes. Ensuring people are treated with compassion, dignity and respect within a clean, safe and well-managed environment is paramount.

The standard has a number of statements covering areas such as knowing the patient as an individual; essential requirements of care; tailoring healthcare for each patient and enabling patients to actively participate in their care.  The quality standard also states:

• Patients are introduced to all healthcare professionals involved in their care, and are made aware of the roles and responsibilities of the members of the healthcare team.
• Patients have opportunities to discuss their health beliefs, concerns and preferences to inform their individualised care.
• Patients are made aware that they have the right to choose, accept or decline treatment and these decisions are respected and supported.
• Patients have their physical and psychological needs regularly assessed and addressed, including nutrition, hydration, pain relief, personal hygiene and anxiety.

The clinical guidance on patient experience published alongside the quality standard makes a number of recommendations for healthcare professionals, including:

• Develop an understanding of the patient as an individual, including how the condition affects the person, and how the person’s circumstances and experiences affect their condition and treatment.

• Ensure that the patient’s personal needs (for example, relating to continence, personal hygiene and comfort) are regularly reviewed and addressed. Regularly ask patients who are unable to manage their personal needs what help they need. Address their needs at the time of asking and ensure maximum privacy.

Christine Carson, Programme Director, Centre for Clinical Practice at NICE said: “Understanding and improving patient experience of NHS services is essential to providing a service based on patients’ needs. Ensuring that the NHS is patient centered is crucial; therefore NICE is pleased to be publishing both a quality standard and guidance that will aid healthcare professionals in delivering the very best experience for patients, right across the NHS.”

The quality standard and guidance are available on the NICE website at: http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qualitystandards/patientexperience/home.jsp
and http://www.nice.org.uk/cg138