Patients at Bradford Teaching Hospitals are to be asked to rate their ward as part of a new feedback scheme.

A&E patients and others staying on wards will be asked whether or not they would recommend their experience to friends and family.

The question will be: “How likely are you to recommend our Ward / A&E department to friends and family if they needed similar care or treatment?”

And it is all part of the new NHS-wide initiative called the Friends and Family Test. Joanne Reynard, who is Bradford Teaching Hospitals' Friends and Family project manager, said: “The NHS Friends and Family Test is a great way of gathering feedback from patients which will help us to drive further improvements to the services we offer across the district.

“At the time of discharge, patients will be given a Friends and Family postcard and asked that simple question.

“A follow-up question then asks them why they chose the answer they did, so that we can learn more about how patients rate their care and experience with us.”

As well as A&E the new test will cover the inpatient wards at the Bradford Royal Infirmary, St Luke’s Hospital, and the three community hospitals at Westwood Park, Westbourne Green and Eccleshill.

Friends and Family Test responses can be dropped into feedback boxes at key points on each ward or in the A&E department. The postcard also has details of a web address and e-mail where patients can provide an electronic response if they prefer.

Assistant chief nurse Shelly Bailey, who is the Foundation Trust’s lead for patient experience, said: “We already ask patients to let us know their views about the treatment and care they receive but this new Friends and Family Test will be a very important indicator which will tell us whether patients are happy with the services and care that we provide. By continuing to improve our services we want to make sure that the experiences of all our patients are positive ones.”