A junior doctor at a Lincolnshire hospital has made it to the finals of a national competition for his work to improve patient care.
Dr Christopher Asplin, a junior doctor at Grantham and District Hospital, conducted a patient experience survey on the emergency admissions unit to identify areas where improvements could be made.
With the help of the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), patients were surveyed in May 2015. The survey found that although there were areas for improvement, 100% of patients thought they were treated with respect and dignity and 97% of patients found that their experience was good or excellent.
The results of the feedback will be used to inform changes and help further improve the service offered to patients in the emergency admissions unit.
Dr Asplin’s work was a finalist in the National Quality Improvement Project awards and presented his work to the Royal College of Physicians in March 2016.
The project was also been shortlisted for The Lancet Research Prize at the Royal College of Physician’s Excellence in Patient Care Awards which is awarded for outstanding research activity that contributes to excellent patient care.
Dr Asplin, said, “The reason I became a doctor was to help people through some of the most difficult times in their life and this project gave me the chance to change things for the better. I wanted to set up a system where patients could shape the very service they use in the hope of improving the services we provide.
“The results show that we are not perfect, but this project provides us with the ability to learn and take action to improve things for every patient. I am thrilled to have been selected as a finalist for the National Quality Improvement Project awards.”
Shirine Boardman, consultant physician and diabetologist said, “The team at Grantham is delighted to have inspired Dr Asplin to study the patient experience on our busy emergency ward where the experience can sometimes be critical and fraught. We are delighted that Dr. Asplin’s work has been recognised nationally and that we scored so well. The team is committed to making further improvements and welcome feedback from all our patients.”