Share your experiences of NHS Inpatient services

What are we doing?

Picker, an independent health and social care research charity, has been commissioned by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), to develop a new questionnaire to understand and improve patient experiences of adult inpatient services in England. We need some help testing the new questionnaire to make sure it is clear and easy to understand by patients.

Who can take part?

You can volunteer if:

• You are aged 16+ and have had at least one overnight stay in an NHS hospital within the last six months.

What will this involve?

To help develop the survey, Picker is holding a series of informal, one-to-one interviews, either via phone, video-conferencing, or face-to-face meetings. During the interview we will discuss the questionnaire and mailing letters including the content, format and length.

The interview will last for up to 1 hour and you will be given a £40 ‘Love to shop’ or ‘Amazon’ voucher as a thank you for your time. They will be conducted at a time convenient for you between September and November 2023.

How can I take part?

To register your interest to take part please contact us using one of the following methods:

• Complete the ‘contact us’ form on the right of this web page.
• Email us at volunteer@surveycoordination.com stating ‘Inpatients interview’ in your email.
• Or call the survey team at Picker on 01865 208135.

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 at any time – even after it has started, without giving a reason.
• Whether or not you decide to take part will not affect the care or support you receive now or in the future, in any way.

Would my participation in this study be kept confidential?

• Yes – any information or comments you provide during the interview will be kept entirely confidential. Care providers will not know who takes part.
• No identifying information (such as your name, or the names of healthcare staff) will be recorded or shared with anyone who provides your care.
• You will be asked to sign and complete a consent form that will be used only by researchers to confirm you have agreed to take part.
• Your personal information will not be shared with anyone unless required by law, where there is a clear overriding public interest, or if something you say indicates that you are at risk of immediate harm.

What will happen to the information that I share?

The information that you share will be used to inform the development of a new questionnaire for the Adult Inpatient Survey. The survey will be used by the CQC and NHS trusts to understand and improve peoples’ experiences of adult inpatient services.

The CQC and Picker comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (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. All the information you share with us during the interview will be deleted two weeks after we have completed survey development, unless deletion is requested sooner.

Who is organising the research?

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England. They make sure that health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care and they encourage care services to improve. You can find out more about CQC’s work on its website: www.cqc.org.uk.

Contact details

If you have any questions about the research, before or after the interview please do not hesitate to get in touch with the following contacts at Picker:

• Matt Foxwell: matt.foxwell@surveycoordination.com
• James Kramer: james.kramer@surveycoordination.com
• The Adult Inpatient Survey Team: inpatient@surveycoordination.com

Privacy notice

CQC’s Privacy Notice (https://cqc.org.uk/about-us/our-policies/privacy-statement) describes how CQC use personal data and explains how you can contact us and invoke your rights as a data subject. Picker’s Privacy Notice (https://www.picker.org/cookies-privacy/) provides information on who we are, how and why we collect and use personal information, your rights in relation to your personal information and how to contact us and supervisory authorities in the event you have a question or complaint concerning the use of your personal information.

We will process your information in accordance with the requirements of GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the CQC or Picker team:  Patient.Survey@cqc.org.uk or volunteer@surveycoordination.com

Do you want to understand more about why we test surveys? Read our blog about cognitive interviewing.