Most people are experiencing better inpatient hospital care than a year ago, but there are still areas for improvement, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has discovered.
CQC’s latest annual survey of hospital inpatients found that satisfaction levels have improved in the past year with more patients rating their overall experience as 10 out of 10.
The survey questioned more than 58,000 people who stayed in one of 130 acute and specialist NHS trusts in England during November 2025 about the care they received. This included whether they were given enough support and their discharge arrangements.
Getting better
People are more positive about their stay in hospital, with most respondents’ experiences either improving or remaining the same.
Most respondents (79%) have confidence and trust in the doctors and nurses treating them, up from 78% a year ago.
Three-quarters (77%) said they always felt that doctors included them in conversations about their care (up from 76% in 2024).
Six in 10 (62%) of those surveyed felt that they were able to talk to hospital staff about their worries (compared to 60% in 2024) and more than a third (38%) said staff involved them ‘a great deal’ in decisions about their care and treatment (up from 37%).
The proportion who felt that there were always enough nurses on duty also increased, this time to 59% from 58% in 2024. This is an upward trend with only 52% reporting that this was the case in 2022.
Similarly, the number of respondents who were always able to get staff to help them has improved over time from 63% in 2021 to 65% in 2025.
Of those who needed help from staff to eat, 73% said they were always able to get such help in 2025, compared to 71% in 2024.
New questions
The 2025 survey asked respondents for the first time if hospital staff considered their individual needs.
Most said that staff considered their language (82%), cultural (79%), religious (77%), accessibility needs (83%) and dietary needs (78%).
However, only 61% of respondents felt hospital staff took their mental health needs into account during their care and treatment.
Going home
Although people’s experience of being discharged from hospital has seen some small improvements this year, the results show it remains an area of difficulty for many.
One in five (21%) respondents who thought it was necessary said staff did not involve their family or carers in decisions about them leaving hospital at all, with a further 17% saying they were ‘not very much’ involved.
Likewise, information and support for post-discharge care needs improvement. Almost a quarter of people surveyed (24%) felt they did not get enough support from health or social care services to help them recover or manage their condition after leaving hospital, up from 23% in 2024.
Views on hospital admission also remain largely unchanged compared to last year. Just under a quarter of patients waiting for elective treatment (23%) said they would like to have been admitted ‘a bit sooner’ and 19% ‘a lot sooner’ in 2025.
Waiting game
Respondents who said they had to wait before being admitted onto a ward were asked where they had to wait.
The most common locations reported were a treatment bay (46%), a waiting room (32%), or a corridor or hallway (18%).
The percentages of respondents who were asked to wait in a treatment bay, corridor or hallway have not changed since 2024.
However, the proportion of respondents who said they were asked to wait in a waiting room has increased from 31% in 2024.
Below average
In addition, the results show that people living with frailty or those who had an emergency admission reported a worse than average experience of inpatient care.
Those living with a disability, dementia or Alzheimer’s, or a neurological condition all reported worse than average experiences across many areas of care such as being able to talk to staff about their worries and fears and having confidence and trust in the doctors and nurses treating them.
Time to reflect
Dr Toli Onon, CQC’s chief inspector of hospitals, said that despite the continued pressures facing the NHS, most people experience positive interactions with hospital staff, who work hard to provide high-quality care in the face of significant challenges.
“This year’s results show some encouraging improvements over time with analysis revealed an upward trend in the number saying they ‘always’ felt included in conversations by doctors and nurses and the proportion reporting they were involved ‘a great deal’ in treatment decisions.
“Putting people at the centre of their own care is of fundamental importance so it’s great to see this reflected in people’s feedback.
“However, the lack of progress in areas such as discharge arrangements and in people feeling they received enough support after leaving hospital is disappointing.
“There’s also been no real change to the proportion affected by waits to be admitted, highlighting how lengthy delays remain a reality for too many.
“These results offer valuable insight that NHS trusts can use to understand what people using their services really think.
“I hope trusts will reflect on their individual results to help them identify where they may be able to make changes to ensure consistently good patient experience for everyone.
“Alongside this, CQC is committed to working together with partner organisations, staff working in our hospitals and those using their services to play our part in supporting further improvements in care,” she added.
