Table 3

Changes in the National Staff Survey and Acute Inpatient Survey 2007–2011 (NHS trusts in England)

200720092011Change 2007–2009Change 2009–2011Standard deviation (2007)
Staff survey
 ‘My trust encourages us to report errors, near misses or incidents’3.843.933.94+0.09**+0.01*0.11
 ‘My trust treats reports of errors, near misses or incidents confidentially’3.553.633.66+0.08**+0.03**0.10
 ‘My trust blames or punishes people who are involved in errors, near misses or incidents’2.752.672.68−0.08**+0.010.12
 ‘When errors, near misses or incidents are reported, my trust takes action to ensure that they do not happen again’3.473.543.57+0.07**+0.03**0.13
Acute inpatient survey
 In your opinion, how clean was the hospital room or ward that you were in?3.453.603.63+0.15**+0.03**0.13
 As far as you know, did doctors wash or clean their hands between touching patients? (% of positive responses)535957+6**−2*6
  • Staff survey results are based on the 309 NHS trusts in England with data from all 3 years shown. p values are based on paired sample t tests. Staff survey responses were on a 1–5 scale with 5 indicating greater agreement with statements; an increase of 0.10 is equivalent to 10% of respondents moving up one category of response, for example, from ‘neither agree nor disagree’ to ‘agree’. Inpatient survey results are based on the 157 NHS acute trusts in England with data from all 3 years shown. Inpatient survey responses were on a 1–4 scale, with 4 indicating greater agreement with statements.

  • *p<0.05; **p<0.01.

  • NHS, National Health Service.