NHS Choices has launched a pilot project to enable patients to text their feedback on hospitals to the website.
The SMS service is being trialled with the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust in Harlow, Essex and means that patients who text their feedback will see their comments appear on the NHS Choices website.
The Department of Health said the new service meant patients who do not have access to the internet would still be able to leave comments on their hospital experience.
Health minister Mike O’Brien added: “We are always looking at new and innovative ways of helping patients leave feedback. It’s important for patients to have the opportunity to feedback on the level of service provided by their hospital – and equally important hospitals use the feedback to continuously improve and drive up standards across the board.”
The Princess Alexandra Hospital said patient feedback was already having an impact on services and had led to more matrons the wards and the recruitment of a dedicated discharge nurse on the maternity ward.
Yvonne Blucher, executive director of nursing and patient care at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, said patient feedback was a key element of the trust’s vision to be the best hospital in England.
She added: “We are delighted to be the first trust in the country to pilot this new and innovative service for NHS Choices. The text service complements the many existing ways in which our patients can feedback; this includes the hand-held Patient Experience Trackers, patient comment cards, hospital links with the patient council and feedback which is given verbally to our staff.”
The DH said more than 15,000 patient feedback comments have been posted on individual hospital websites since 2007. It said it was also working with stakeholders and health groups, including librarians, healthcare workers and UK Online Centres, to help people access NHS Choices through a variety of methods.