DEMENTIA nurses in Colchester are encouraging carers to complete a questionnaire which aims to improve the quality of care provided by hospitals.

The questionnaire, which is part of a national clinical audit, is for family members or key worker carers who visited a patient with confusion or memory problems in Colchester General Hospital during the summer.

Maisey Dear, dementia care nurse specialist, said: “The information given will be used to help Colchester General Hospital and other hospitals to improve standards of care by highlighting things that are done well and areas that need improvement.”

“That’s why we’re keen for as many eligible carers as possible to complete and return the questionnaire, which is from The Royal College of Psychiatrists, by the closing date of 17 October.”

The questionnaire, which should take no longer than 15 minutes to fill in, asks carers for their views about the care received by the person they care for and about the communication they have had with hospital staff.

It does not ask for the name of the carer, only the name of the hospital where the person they care for was treated.

After it has been completed, the carer can enter a prize draw to win one of five £50 vouchers to be spent at a high street store of their choice. The answers a carer provides to the questionnaire cannot be linked to their prize draw entry.

The questionnaire can be accessed and completed online here.

Alternatively, phone The Royal College of Psychiatrists on 020 3701 2682 (9am-5pm) and ask for a copy of the “Carer views on the quality of hospital care” national clinical audit questionnaire.