Patient Reported Experience Measure (PREM) for urgent and emergency care

These tools measure the experience of patients aged 0-16 years, or their parents, in urgent and emergency care (U&EC) settings. You can download surveys for ambulance services, GPs and emergency departments/walk-in centres. Our research report explains how they were developed, and we also have guidance on how to use and analyse them.

Why was this PREM developed?

Children make up 26% of patients in urgent and emergency care settings. The Department of Health (England) requires that all services use patient feedback to drive improvements. In emergency departments, patient experience is one of the eight Clinical Quality Indicators that are submitted to the Department of Health and are benchmarked nationally.

Many paediatric patient surveys that currently exist have been developed by adults with little or no input from children and young people. Recent reports highlight the importance of developing tools that are suitable for the children themselves to use [1,2,3].

This is the first evidence-based PREM for this purpose, developed in 2012 by the RCPCH with Picker Institute Europe. It has been developed 'by the children, for the children' - ensuring that their views were captured early in the design process. It should help urgent and emergency care settings identify areas which are important to paediatric patients and areas for improvement.

How was it developed?

The PREM was developed using a five-stage process:

  • Literature review
  • Qualitative stage
  • Questionnaire design
  • Cognitive testing and questionnaire
  • Piloting

Following the pilot, we developed PREM tools for use in GP surgeries, emergency departments and walk-in centres, and ambulance services. There are three versions for each setting:

  • Child version (for children aged 8-16 years)
  • Parent version (for children aged 0-7 years)
  • For all age groups (to be completed by either parent/carer or child) – please note this version has not been cognitively tested or piloted and is not recommended

You can download the PREMs below. You can also download our research report, which details how they were developed.

Please note that the Paediatric Urgent and Emergence Care PREMs can be used by eligible organisations in England free of charge under a licence agreement with the Picker Institute. Please contact HealthExperiences@PickerEurope.ac.uk quoting ‘Children’s Urgent and Emergency Care PREMs’ to request further information.

Implementation

To implement this tool, select the relevant PREM(s) for your organisation. Enter data responses from the completed PREMs. To minimise error and ensure all data is captured, enter the data soon after collection.

Data logic/entry guidance and a guide to analysing and interpreting your data (including the use of problem scoring) are available to download below.

Professional support

You may wish to commission Picker Institute Europe to assist with all or part of your PREM. Services can include:

  • questionnaire printing
  • data entry
  • data analysis and reporting
  • benchmarking against other organisations
  • for hospital Emergency Departments - developing an extended version of the PREM.

For more information, contact the Picker Institute on 01865 208100. Please reference the RCPCH Urgent and Emergency Care PREM

Contact

For any further information, contact the RCPCH Research & Evaluation Team:

  • Email: research@rcpch.ac.uk
  • Phone: 020 7092 6081

References

  1. Professor the Lord Darzi of Denham KBE. High Quality Care for all: NHS Next Stage Review Final Report. 2008. http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_085825
  2. Department of Health E. NHS Outcomes Framework 2012/13. 2011. http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_131700
  3. Professor Sir Ian Kennedy. Getting it right for children and young people: Overcoming cultural barriers in the NHS so as to meet their needs. 2010. http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_085825