IBD Patient Survey success

Gemma Winsor, Patient Engagement Officer at Crohn's & Colitis UK | November 2019

As we near the closing date of the IBD Patient Survey 2019, it’s a good time to pause and appreciate all the collective effort there has been in promoting this.

From the IBD services who have been flying the survey flag in clinics, to being featured in the CICRA, IA and Crohn’s & Colitis UK newsletters and included in news items in National Voices, The Alliance and many local Healthwatch branches, this couldn’t have been achieved without everyone’s help.

We now have 9,000 completed surveys, just short of our overall 10,000 target. It is really important that within this, every IBD service has a minimum of 30 patient survey responses so that they can view their report.

There’s still time to reach 10,000 IBD Patient Survey responses before 22^nd November, with your support.

Out of the 97% of IBD services that have had survey responses, there are a number that have had over 100 IBD Patient Surveys completed for their hospital. Here are their top tips for spreading the word and promoting the survey:

Dr Richard Felwick, Southampton General Hospital

Advertise the IBD Patient Survey at open days
Promote the survey on any websites and apps you use to communicate with patients - we use the ‘My Medical Record’ site
Give out the flyer in clinics and enclose the flyer in all letters sent

Deborah Morris, Lead IBD Nurse Specialist, Lister and Queen Elizabeth II Hospitals

Make sure paper copies of the survey are available, as lots of patients prefer not to complete the survey online
Tweet about the IBD Patient Survey from the NHS Trust account
Give out the flyer during infusions and put posters up around the hospital

Dr Christopher Lamb, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle

Encourage patients to follow IBD UK and Crohn’s & Colitis UK on social media to see posts with links to the survey
Inform all members of the multidisciplinary team about the IBD Patient Survey, so they can help to spread the word

Dr Christian Sellinger, St James’s Hospital, Leeds

Add the link to the IBD Patient Survey into email signatures from the IBD helpline
Work with patient representatives who can visit IBD clinics and ask fellow patients to participate

The local hospital team have done some sterling work to promote the IBD Patient Survey and the Leeds IBD Patient Panel agreed we would support the push, with volunteers attending IBD clinics to get people responding to the survey. Whilst in clinics, I found that patients were really responsive. This survey will help our understanding of IBD services across Leeds and help us to review service standards jointly with the healthcare teams.

Graham, IBD Patient Panel member, St James’s Hospital

Remember there is still time to promote the IBD Patient Survey in your hospital before it closes on the Friday 22 November 2019. You’ll find the survey and resources on our website or you can email us at info@ibduk.org to order flyers and posters.