Many people are reporting a better experience of hospital inpatient care than a year ago, according to a national survey from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
The results of CQC’s latest annual survey of hospital inpatients published today (26 August) reveal that generally patient satisfaction levels have improved in the past year with a greater number of respondents rating their overall experience as ten out of ten. However, the results still indicate some aspects of patient care where people have a poorer experience.
The 2025 adult inpatient survey captures the views and experience of more than 58,000 people who stayed in one of 130 acute and specialist NHS trusts in England for at least one night during November last year. It has been carried out annually since 2002.
The survey asked people to give their opinions about the care they received, including the quality of information and communication with staff, whether they were given enough privacy, the amount of support given to help them eat and drink, and on their discharge arrangements.
On a national level, people were more positive about their stays in hospitals, with most responses to questions also asked in the 2025 survey having improved or stayed the same.
The majority of respondents were positive about their interactions with doctors and nurses. A high proportion of people surveyed (79%) said they ‘always’ had confidence and trust in the nurses treating them (up from 78% in 2024). Three-quarters (77%) said they ‘always’ felt that doctors included them in conversations about their care (up from 76% in 2024).
Six in ten (62%) of those surveyed in 2025 felt that they were able to talk to hospital staff about their worries and fears (compared to 60% in 2024) and over a third (38%) said that staff involved them ‘a great deal’ in decisions about their care and treatment (up from 37% who said this in 2024).
The proportion who felt that there were ‘always’ enough nurses on duty has also increased from 58% in 2024 to 59% in 2025. Long term trend analysis of the results to this question indicates an upward trend since 2021, including year-on-year increases since 2022 when only 52% said this was the case.
Similarly, the number of respondents who said that they were ‘always’ able to get a member of staff to help them when they needed attention has also improved over time from 63% in 2021 to 65% in 2025. Of those respondents who needed help from staff to eat their meals, 73% said they were ‘always’ able to get that help in 2025, compared to 71% in 2024.
The 2025 survey included a new question asking respondents whether hospital staff took into account their individual needs. Most said that where required staff took account for their language needs (82%), cultural needs (79%), religious needs (77%), accessibility needs (83%) and dietary needs (78%). However, only 61% of respondents felt hospital staff took their mental health needs into account during their care and treatment.
Although people’s experience of being discharged from hospital has seen some small improvements this year, the results show it remains an area of difficulty for many.
One in five (21%) respondents who thought it was necessary said hospital staff did not involve their family or carers in decisions about them leaving hospital at all, with a further 17% saying they were ‘not very much’ involved.
Likewise, information and support for post-discharge care continues to show scope for improvement. Almost a quarter of people surveyed (24%) felt they did not get enough support from health or social care services to help them recover or manage their condition after leaving hospital (compared to 23% in 2024).
The number of respondents (22%) who said that hospital staff did not discuss with them whether they would need any further health and social care services after leaving hospital but ‘would have liked them to’ has not significantly changed compared to 2024. Views on hospital admission also remain largely unchanged compared to last year. Just under a quarter of patients waiting for elective treatment (23%) said they would like to have been admitted ‘a bit sooner’ and 19% ‘a lot sooner’ in 2025.
Similarly, the proportion of people who felt their health deteriorated to some extent while waiting to be admitted has not significantly altered compared to 2024. A quarter (25%) said it got ‘a bit worse’ and 18% ‘much worse’.
Respondents who said they had to wait before being admitted onto a ward were asked where they had to wait. The most common locations reported were a treatment bay (46%), a waiting room (32%), or a corridor or hallway (18%). The percentages of respondents who were asked to wait in a treatment bay, corridor, or hallway have not changed since 2024. However, the proportion of respondents who said they were asked to wait in a waiting room has increased from 31% in 2024.
In addition, the results show that people living with frailty or those who had an emergency admission reported a worse than average experiences of inpatient care for all 20 questions analysed. Respondents with a disability, dementia or Alzheimer’s, or a neurological condition all reported worse than average experiences across many areas of care such as being able to talk to staff about their worries and fears and having confidence and trust in the doctors and nurses treating them.
As well as a report of the national findings, CQC has published the results for each of the 130 individual trusts that took part, and a report identifying those trusts that have scored better or worse across the survey overall, so that people can see how their local services performed.
Dr Toli Onon, CQC’s Chief Inspector of Hospitals, said:
Despite the continued pressures facing the NHS, most people surveyed continue to report positively about their interactions with hospital staff. Frontline staff are working hard to provide high-quality care in the face of significant challenges, and their efforts should be commended.
This year’s results show some encouraging improvements over time with analysis revealing an upward trend in the number saying they ‘always’ felt included in conversations by doctors and nurses and the proportion reporting they were involved ‘a great deal’ in treatment decisions. Putting people at the centre of their own care is of fundamental importance so it’s great to see this reflected in people’s feedback.
However, the lack of progress in areas such as discharge arrangements and in people feeling they received enough support after leaving hospital is disappointing. There’s also been no real change to the proportion affected by waits to be admitted highlighting how lengthy delays remain a reality for too many.
These results offer valuable insight that NHS trusts can use to understand what people using their services really think. I hope trusts will reflect on their individual results to help them identify where they may be able to make changes to ensure consistently good patient experience for everyone.
Alongside this, CQC is committed to working together with partner organisations, staff working in our hospitals and those using their services to play our part in supporting further improvements in care.
The survey findings have been shared with each participating trust so that they can review their individual results and take steps to address any areas where there may be changes within their power to drive further improvement. CQC will continue to use the findings as part of its wider monitoring of the quality of hospital services and to plan and target its inspections.