Healthcare survey information sheet
We would like to invite you to take part in a survey. Before you decide whether you would like to take part, please take time to read the following information carefully and discuss it with others if you wish.
What are we doing?
Picker, an independent health and social care research charity, are running a survey asking about views on safety in hospitals and any awareness of a new policy called Martha’s rule. Information can be found below.
Who is organising the research?
You are being contacted by Care Opinion and invited by Picker to take part in this survey. The survey is part of a wider study led by Yorkshire Quality and Safety Research Group, as part of the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Quality Safety and Outcomes Policy Research Unit (QSO PRU). The research is funded by the NIHR and the Department of Health and Social Care.
What is the survey about?
We are inviting people to take part in the survey to tell us about their views on general safety in hospital and about any concerns that patients and their family or close friends might experience during an overnight stay in hospital. We would also like to understand people’s awareness of a new policy called Martha’s Rule. It does not matter if you have not heard of Martha’s Rule before.
Martha’s Rule aims to amplify the patient voice and improve safety in hospitals. This policy intends to give patients and their families, as well as staff, an easy way of asking for advice (or a medical review) at any time in hospital when they feel their health or that of a loved one is getting worse, and they don’t feel that their concerns are being taken seriously by the healthcare staff who are looking after them.
You can take part if you are 18 years or older and live in England. You do not need to have stayed in hospital or visited anyone in hospital to be able to take part.
What will taking part in the study involve?
If you decide to take part, you will be able to complete our survey online using the link above on your own device. The survey should take about 15 minutes to complete. If you have any questions or require assistance to complete the survey, please contact the research team using the contact details below.
Do I have to take part?
- No – participation is voluntary, it is up to you whether or not to take part.
- You can decide not to take part or withdraw at any time – You will be asked at the beginning of the survey, whether Picker can use your responses if you do not complete the survey in full. If you exit the survey before completing it, Picker will only use responses up until the point you exit, if you have given permission to do so.
Would my participation in this study be kept confidential?
- Yes – what you say will be kept entirely confidential. Nobody will know who or who has not taken part.
- Individual responses to the survey are confidential and will only be seen by the research team.
- No identifying information (such as your name or contact details) will be shared with the researchers or with anyone who provides care to you or your loved one.
- We will only ever share your views with our research collaborators, Yorkshire Quality and Safety Research Group, anonymously.
What will happen to the information that I share?
This study will help policy makers and healthcare providers in the NHS to improve patient safety, as well as to ensure they can support and address the needs of a wide range of patients in hospital and their friends and family.
Picker comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). Picker also complies with the Market Research Society’s (MRS) Code of Conduct by maintaining certifications from the International Standardisation of Organisations. Any sensitive or confidential material is stored securely in line with our data protection policy which can be found on our website https://picker.org/privacy-notice-for-online-surveys/
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is the sponsor for the research and have full responsibility for the larger project conducted by QSO PRU at Yorkshire Quality and Safety Research Group. This means that they are responsible for looking after your anonymous information and using it properly once it is shared with QSO PRU at Yorkshire Quality and Safety Research Group.
Where can I find out more about how my information is used?
You can find out more about how we use your information
- by asking one of the research team
- by using the contact details below
- Picker’s Privacy Notice is available to read here: https://picker.org/privacy-notice-for-online-surveys/
- Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Privacy Notice is available to read at https://www.bradfordhospitals.nhs.uk/privacy-statement/
What will happen to the results of the survey?
The survey results will be published in scientific journals and presented at conferences so that NHS healthcare organisations, professionals, and academics can learn from them. Your personal information will not be included in the study reports and there will be no way that you can be identified from them.
What can I do if I have any concerns about the study?
If you have a concern about any aspect of this study, you should ask to speak to the research team in the first instance using the contact details below who will do their best to answer your questions.
Patients who have a concern about any aspect of their care or treatment, or about the way their records have been managed should, in the first instance contact the Patient Advice & Liaison Service (PALS).
Tel: 01274 364810 (Monday to Friday 9am – 4pm). Messages can be left on the answering machine and will be answered within two working days.
Email: Patient.experience@bthft.nhs.uk
In person: by making an appointment on 01274 364810.
You can, if you so wish, also contact the Trust Data Protection Officer (DPO) on dataprotectionofficer@bthft.nhs.uk or the Information Governance team on Information.Governance@bthft.nhs.uk
Who has reviewed the study?
The study has been looked at by an independent group of people called a Research Ethics Committee, to protect your safety, rights, wellbeing and dignity. This study has been given a favourable opinion by the Yorkshire & The Humber – Leeds West Research Ethics Committee (Ref: 24/YH/0184).
Contact Details:
If you have any questions about the survey, before or after completing it, please get in touch with Cara Witwicki via email: cara.witwicki@pickereurope.ac.uk.
You can also contact the research team at Yorkshire Quality Safety Research group about the research via email: marthasrule.study@bthft.nhs.uk
Thank you for taking the time to read through the information sheet. If you would like to take part, please click here to take you to the survey.