NHS inpatient survey shows modest improvements in patients’ overall experiences – but gaps in involvement and around transitions in care 

There were improvements in some areas of people’s experiences of NHS inpatient care between 2023 and 2024 – but too many patients continue to report problems in their care. Whilst the most notable improvements were around people’s experiences with staff, large numbers of patients report long waits and poorly coordinated discharges from hospital. 

These results are amongst the findings of the 2024 NHS Adult Inpatient Survey, which has been published today. The survey, coordinated by Picker for the Care Quality Commission (CQC), looks at people’s experiences of hospital treatment including at least one overnight stay, and asks about every element of their care from referral to after discharge. This year, 131 trusts took part in the survey and more than 62,400 patients responded.  

Patients’ overall ratings of their care improved compared to 2023: the proportion who rated their care as 9-10 out of 10 rose from 50.8% to 52.1%. The most notable improvements were around the availability of healthcare staff and the care that they provided – for example:  

• 58% of patients said that there were “always” “enough nurses on duty to care for [them] in hospital” – up from 56% in 2023 and only 52% in 2022.  
• 65% of patients said that they could “always” “get a member of staff to help when [they] needed attention” – an improvement from 63% in 2023 and 62% in 2022.  
• Patients were more likely to say that they were “always” “involved in the conversation” when doctors or nurses spoke about their care in front of them – up from 75% in 2023 to 76% (doctors) and 77% (nurses) in 2024.  

However, the results show continuing problems around patients’ journeys through care, with problems at the front door and as people leave hospital. Two in five people (42%) who had a planned admission said that they would have liked to have been admitted to hospital sooner, and 43% said that their health got “a bit” or “much worse” whilst they were on the waiting list. At the end of their hospital stay, only half (49%) said that they were “definitely” given enough notice about when they would leave, and 40% said that hospital staff involved their family or carers in discussions about their discharge “not very much” or “not at all”.  

Commenting on the results, Chris Graham, Group CEO at Picker, said:

“The latest large-scale survey data shows modest improvements in people’s experiences of NHS hospital care up to the Autumn of 2024. Most notably, patients were more likely to report that there were enough staff to care for them and that they had positive interactions with doctors and nurses – suggesting that patients’ perceptions of staffing levels, which had declined following the pandemic, are now recovering.  

“Although these improvements are welcome news for patients, far too many people are still reporting problems in their care. Being fully involved in one’s own care remains the exception rather than the rule, and the coordination of care across and between services – such as when people are discharged home – is too often lacking. These are important challenges to be addressed as the NHS seeks to implement the new ten-year plan for health – and will be vital to achieving its goal of making the NHS  ‘the world’s most collaborative healthcare provider’” 

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Notes to editors

• For media enquiries, please contact Picker’s Marketing and Communications team at pressoffice@pickereurope.ac.uk, or phone: 01865 632 235.

• The 2024 NHS Adult Inpatient survey was coordinated by Picker on behalf of the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Picker (www.picker.org) is a health and care research charity with a vision of the highest quality person centred care for all, always. The Care Quality Commission (www.cqc.org.uk) are the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England.  

• Full results of the survey are available on the Care Quality Commission website at https://www.cqc.org.uk/publications/surveys/adult-inpatient-survey, and details of the survey methodology as well as trust-level benchmark reports are available at https://nhssurveys.org/surveys/survey/02-adults-inpatients/year/2024/.   

• A total of 162,308 patients were invited to participate in the survey across 131 acute and specialist NHS trusts. Patients were eligible for the survey if they were aged 16 years or older, had spent at least one night in hospital, and were discharged from an NHS Trust in England during November 2024.  

• Fieldwork for the survey took place between January 2025 and April 2025. We received responses from 62,444 patients, an adjusted response rate of 41%. 

Picker’s team of researchers and data scientists are available to support organisations in understanding, measuring, and using workforce and user experience. For queries about our services or to request a call, please contact info@pickereurope.ac.uk.