What are the best ways to gather feedback in care homes?

One of the fundamental aspects of providing person-centred care is encouraging residents to express their thoughts and feelings about the care that is being provided to them – to give them an active voice in how they are being cared for and making them part of the decision-making process. This is not only important from a regulatory standpoint, but it also contributes greatly to overall resident experience. One of the best ways to ensure that residents have a voice in their care is to gather feedback, so we’re looking at the best ways to gather feedback from staff, residents and family members to improve overall care provision. 

Why feedback matters 

Feedback matters because it has been shown to improve resident satisfaction because they feel they are being listened to and their unique needs and preferences are accounted for. Also, feedback from a staff perspective helps to guide care workers so that they are aware of areas that require further development.  

• Read more here about why feedback matters

Things to remember when seeking to gather feedback 

How you act on the feedback provided is just as important as obtaining meaningful feedback in the first place. Once the feedback has been collected, you need to accept and embrace any negative feedback that you get. It may be difficult, but ultimately negative feedback can be far more valuable that positive feedback. So, analyse it closely to try and identify any common themes or trends in what people are saying, or if there are any gaps in the service that you weren’t previously aware of. But as well as this, it’s important to recognise what is going well.  

You need to be open about the steps you are taking to address any issues raised, so be sure everyone involved understands the steps that are being taken to address any issues and what changes are being implemented. In order to make sure you are getting the very best quality feedback you can, feedback that is honest and constructive, you need to make sure that there isn’t any reluctance to give feedback. Be sure to make the process easy and stress-free, and underline the point that the goal is to improve the care service for the betterment of everyone living and working in care. Also, it’s important to provide as many different avenues as possible to gather feedback to make the process as easy and inclusive as possible. Which leads us to... 

Gathering feedback that makes a difference 

If care providers are going to seek to gather feedback from residents and staff as well as other appropriate healthcare professionals, then it needs to be done in a proactive and meaningful way, rather than just undertaken half-heartedly for the sake of regulatory compliance.

So below are some practical ways that your care home can set up effective protocols and processes to gather feedback. 

Regulatory inspection feedback  

One of the best ways to gather meaningful feedback from both residents and staff is by making use of the feedback given as part of regulatory inspections. For example, the CQC carries out regular inspections of health and social care services and during the process of assessing their regulatory compliance, they gather feedback from those who use the service, as well as staff and other stakeholders. It’s important to engage with this feedback, whether good or bad, to help confirm what is going well and what the potential areas for improvement might be.  

Surveys and forms 

Feedback can be gathered from residents by using forms and surveys to gather information from residents and their families regarding what they think about various aspects of the care that is being provided. A survey or feedback form can be designed suitably if the questions are kept short and open-ended, as well as using clear language. Other examples that are similar to this, and also encourage more detailed discussions around feedback, are interviews and focus groups, both of which can lead to more thorough and thoughtful discussions about what is going well and what needs to be improved.  

On-the-go feedback forums 

While organising a survey or interview to gather constructive feedback will be very beneficial, another means of gathering meaningful feedback is to try more real-time formats that people can use whenever they observe or think of something that they feel needs to be addressed. This can make sure that nothing is forgotten and, if anonymised, people will not feel reluctant to criticise and can be open and honest about how they feel if the feedback is negative. 

Feedback forums like this could include suggestion boxes, online chat services or even a dedicated feedback helpline. Functions like these can allow people to provide feedback on their experiences and raise concerns as well as provide suggestions for feedback. And if necessary, you can even use these as a jumping-off point for a more thorough discussion about the issue as well. 

An easier, more seamless way to gather feedback 

Person Centred Software offers a range of digital solutions that enhance the quality of life for both residents and staff alike, and one of the ways in which it does this is by providing solutions that help care settings gather feedback. 

For example, our front-of-house system Digital Reception can help care settings gather feedback from those that have visited their loved ones. Any number of questions can be asked and can be either star ratings, yes/no questions or the option the enter any amount of text.  

Or another of our products, ResHub, a product that focuses holistically on resident experience, offers a feature known as Survey Management, which offers users the chance to create simple-to-use surveys with custom options that can be tailored to the exact needs of the care home.  

Both products, which are part of the Connected Care Platform, offer a means of gathering feedback that will not only help to improve the quality of care offered in your home, but it will also help you to remain compliant with regulatory requirements.  

To find out more about Digital Reception and ResHub’s feedback gathering capabilities, why not click here to book a consultation and speak with one of our experts?