It's been 12 months since University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) started asking inpatients a simple question about the care they receive. The Friends and Family Test asks: “How likely are you to recommend us to friends and family if they needed similar care or treatment?”

The Trust was part of a pilot group of hospitals in the NHS Midlands and East region which trialled the question from April 2012 onwards. Based on its success, Prime Minister David Cameron announced that from April 2013 all Trusts across the UK would participate in the Friends and Family Test.  

The test aims to encourage patient feedback, show patients that their views and experiences matter to the NHS, improve patient care and let people know where they can get the best care.

All inpatients and, for the first time at UHB and the other pilot hospitals, patients visiting the Emergency Department are surveyed within 48 hours of discharge. The Friends and Family Test scores are calculated using the proportion of patients who are extremely likely to recommend the hospital minus those who would not recommend, or who are indifferent. Patients are encouraged to explain why they gave a particular score, so hospitals can use this insight to make improvements.

Kay Fawcett, Executive Chief Nurse at UHB, said: “Each month, we collect thousands of responses to the Friends and Family Test which shows our commitment to collecting patient feedback in this way. For us, the important part is acting on the experiences of our patients. The Friends and Family Test is a headline measure of how we are doing and is just one of a number of ways we collect patient comments at UHB – we need to drill down to find out where we need to make improvements and celebrate success.”

Results for all UK hospitals and individual wards will be published on the NHS Choices website, allowing the public to compare hospital performance and make choices about their care.