Dear Patient: A practical guide to patient experience

Great progress has been made in creating awareness of patient experience and promoting its practice in care settings and among commissioners of health and care services. However, the true appreciation and practice of patient experience is yet to be the norm, even in advanced economies. The days of ‘the doctor knows best, so be grateful and be quiet’ are almost gone but unfortunately staggers on in some quarters. The key purpose of Dear Patient – A practical guide to patient experience is to equip all those working in healthcare - be it as doctors, nurses, paramedics, therapists, administrators or receptionists, and those training or aspiring to these and other health and care roles - with the practical guide to enable them attend to patients, their families and carers with professionalism, courtesy, dignity, and respect. It also provides the public with the knowledge of what is expected of staff in hospitals and other care settings in terms of patient experience, including the handling of complaints and patient/carer engagement. This book uses many real, anonymised cases to illustrate what patient experience is all about, thereby providing a truly practical guide.