We use surveys to find out what people think of the NHS healthcare services that they use.

The results help assess NHS performance. We also use them for regulatory activities such as registration, monitoring ongoing compliance and reviews.

You can find out about our most recently published surveys below.

Adult inpatient survey 2020

Published: October 2021

This survey looks at the experiences of people who stayed at least one night in hospital as an inpatient.

Most people were positive about their overall hospital experience and being treated with dignity and respect.

The majority of patients reported positive interactions with doctors and nurses.

Information provision at discharge and follow-up care are areas in need of improvement.

People who were considered frail consistently reported poorer than average experiences.

Urgent and emergency care survey 2020

Published: September 2021

This survey collected information on the experiences of people who received care from urgent and emergency care services in 2020.

Most people continue to be positive about many important aspects of their urgent and emergency care.

More people reported a ‘very good’ overall experience of care and most people were positive about their interactions with staff.

People were less positive about emotional support, pain management and availability of staff when they felt they needed attention.

Information provision when leaving A&E or the urgent treatment centre remains a problem for many patients.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) inpatient experience survey

Published: November 2020

The survey captured the views of more than 10,000 adults who were discharged from hospital during April and May 2020. We carried it out to gather feedback to help services and local systems plan for and improve future coronavirus care.

Community mental health survey 2020

Published: November 2020

This survey looked at the experiences of people receiving community mental health services in 2019.

Experiences of being supported with physical health needs and financial advice or benefits were poor.

Waiting times for receiving NHS therapies were considered to be too long by many.

Many people did not know who to contact within the NHS during a crisis.

Many people felt they had not seen services often enough to meet their needs.

Maternity services survey 2019

Published: January 2020

This survey looked at the experiences of women who had a live birth in early 2019. We found that:

Interaction with staff has improved over time; women are feeling listened to by midwives and that their concerns are taken seriously

Most women feel that staff respect their feeding choices, and reported higher levels of active support in feeding their baby

There remains scope for improvement in postnatal care as women consistently report poorer experience than for the care they received during pregnancy and labour

The quality of information around changes to mental health could be improved

Children and young people's survey 2018

Published: November 2019

This survey looks at the experiences of children, young people and their parents and carers attending hospital.

Overall, children, young people and their parents or carers reported good experiences of care.

The majority of children and young people were positive about communication with hospital staff.

Children, young people, and their parents were less positive about their, or their child’s, experiences of being discharged from hospital.

A small proportion (1%) of children and young people spent most of their hospital stay on an adult ward.

Trends in the Adult Inpatient Survey 2005-2014

Published: November 2015

This analysis looks at the experiences of people receiving adult inpatient services over a ten year period.

Patients’ experiences of care have generally been good.

Most areas we ask patients about have seen little meaningful change or improvement.

Patients report substantial improvements in areas such as cleanliness and mixed sex accommodation.

There have been areas of deterioration, for example in waiting times.

Ambulance survey of Hear and Treat callers 2013/14

Published: 2014

This survey looked at the experiences of over 2,900 people who called an ambulance service in December 2013 and January 2014.

Most people were positive, but some did not understand or agree with the advice given at the end of the call.

Overall, callers were more likely to agree with the decision to not send an ambulance if they had received a full explanation of the reasons.

Outpatient survey 2011

This survey collected patients' experiences of their most recent visit to an outpatient department.

More people felt that they were treated with respect and dignity.

Staff need to improve the way they provide information to patients.