Let’s face the music and dance

Patients are the lifeblood of our work and giving them the best vision possible is a wonderful gift that all ophthalmic practitioners share. That inner feeling of accomplishment can be increased when our patients are vocal about the benefits improved vision have brought to their lives. On the flip side, the few patients who speak out about a poor outcome can lead to that heart-sink moment and make us feel less worthy.

But what about the other, less vocal patients? Are they satisfied with the results? Unless they are asked about their outcome, one would never know. Patient feedback – that is the views and opinions of patients and service users on the care they have experienced – is a key test of both overall and clinician performance, and one which has traditionally made a minor impact on NHS services due to a lack of patient choice. Multiple NHS providers have now made patient choice a reality and feedback has become a core component of NHS services. Indeed, clinical commissioning groups include feedback rates as part of their scoring system for NHS providers so there is a huge impetus to get as much feedback as possible.