St John rated highly in its patient survey

It was completed by nearly 2,000 people, with the vast majority giving positive feedback on issues ranging from the professionalism of the ambulance crew, to the treatment and advice they were given.

The service provided was rated as excellent or good by 91% of those who responded to the survey, with another 5% rating it as ‘good’.

Of the patients who were treated and discharged at home, 99% were satisfied with the decision, while 97% of respondents said they felt involved in the decisions about their care.

A total of 93% said the professionalism of the ambulance crew was excellent or very good, with the same percentage giving the same rating to the treatment and advice they received. Response times received the lowest scores in the survey, with 59% rating these as excellent. However, 93% were happy with the response times.

Head of operations Dean de la Mare said that 999 calls were categorised to ensure the most serious were responded to immediately.

‘This means lower category calls will have a longer response time, however over 90% of the lower category of calls are responded to within the target time,’ he said.

‘Other factors include time of day and the amount of traffic, as well as the distance to the emergency.’

Overall he was happy with the survey’s results.

‘The results of the survey are extremely positive, not only showing that the Guernsey public highly value the emergency ambulance service, but also that our patients have received a high standard of care.’

This was particularly encouraging at a time when the demand for the service was at an all-time high.

‘Last year was our busiest on record,’ said Mr de la Mare.

‘We place a lot of emphasis on the standard of care we provide, so it is a credit to our dedicated clinicians that the public rate the professionalism from our crews very highly and I would like to take this opportunity to thank our teams for their hard work.’

Feedback was also given on the ambulance subscription scheme and while 82% agreed or strongly agreed that it was good value for money, some respondents commented about the costs and recent changes.

Mr de la Mare said this was good feedback.

Questions were also asked about the non-emergency patient transfer service, which takes people to and from medical appointments, under the guidance of a healthcare professional, if they are unable to get any other form of transport.

About 150 people responded to these questions, with 83% rating it as very good or excellent and 81% of respondents giving this rating to the care and attention they received from the service.