Improving the experience of care for people using NHS services: summary of NICE guidance

The emphasis in healthcare has often been on clinical efficacy and outcomes, which can come at the expense of the patient’s experience. Developments in healthcare delivery can make giving attention to the individual more difficult, especially as healthcare has become more technological and specialised, increasing the number of people and services that a patient has contact with. Changes in the working practices of healthcare staff (such as more part time working) and the rise in the number of large institutions delivering care can mean that patients have less opportunity to develop relationships with professionals who treat them and are more likely to be treated by a team.

The NHS “next stage” review, a review commissioned to develop a vision of an NHS fit for the 21st century, recognised the experience of patients as one of three dimensions of quality.1 The other two dimensions were clinical effectiveness and safety. This article summarises the most recent recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) on improving patients’ general experience of NHS care.2 The recommendations are for all settings and all who use adult NHS services and cover mainly the interactions between healthcare staff and patients, and aspects of organisation.