The Friends and Family Test (FFT) was introduced in hospitals nearly 18 months ago. From April 2015, FFT will become a contractual requirement for dentists providing NHS dental services. So, what is it and what will it means for practices and patients?
The FFT is a quick, simple feedback tool which asks patients to indicate how likely they would be to recommend services to their friends and family if they required similar care or treatment. Patients can also provide feedback to the practice through a free text comment – this is the most valuable component of FFT.
Since its introduction to the acute sector, over 4m responses have been received - the bulk of which have been positive. This is feedback on a scale never previously seen. There are, of course, always areas that can be improved and the FFT has already led to hundreds of improvements in hospitals. The FFT is also boosting staff morale as they now receive near real time feedback from patients saying how much they appreciate the great care they receive.
The intention is for FFT to be as low burden as possible – both for practices and for patients. Every patient needs to be given the opportunity to complete the FFT at any point in their treatment pathway. This does not mean that every patient needs to be physically asked, however practices do have a responsibility to make patients aware of their right to complete the FFT and provide the means to do so. A range of FFT resources are currently being developed which practices will be able to adapt and print for use locally.
There is flexibility in how practices offer the FFT. There are many options available which include completion of a postcard, utilisation of a text messaging service, online solutions or kiosks. Different methods will work better in different practices. By allowing local flexibility it is hoped that FFT will fit in with other patient engagement activities already underway.
In July, NHS England published guidance on the implementation of the FFT for all care settings. The guidance was developed as a result of a review (which looked at what had worked well, or not so well, during the first six months of FFT operating in acute trusts) and taking the learning from a range of testing sites across the country – a number of which included dental practices. The guidance is in the form of an interactive PDF which describes how FFT should operate in all clinical settings and contains resources and materials to assist practices to make the FFT accessible for patients with different needs (for example those with dementia, hearing loss, or children and young people).
In addition, as a result of feedback, NHS England has worked with the British Dental Association to develop a summary guide for dental services – it can be found at www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/nhsdentserv-guid.pdf
To ensure that the implementation of FFT in dental practices runs as smoothly as possible, a stakeholder group was established which includes the British Dental Association. Its input on behalf of the profession has been highly valued by the team and its suggestions have been taken on-board.
Further information about FFT can be obtained at http://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/pe/fft/