Comparing UK patients’ experiences of NHS audiology care using a newly translated English version of the consumer quality index (CQI) ‘audiology care’ questionnaire

Following the adaptation of a patient-reported experience measure (PREM) of “Audiology Care”, based on the Consumer Quality Index (CQI), from a Dutch to a UK context, we compared patient experiences of the prescription and fitting process for first-time adult hearing aid (HA) users in two different venues affiliated to the same organisation. The adapted PREM consisted of 32 questions and 7 subscales. The PREM was posted to a group of 1821 NHS patients who had received a first HA fitting via a social enterprise within the past 12 months at either a Hospital or High Street venue. 967 (53%, 796 Hospital, 171 High Street) patients responded and were included in the study. For two out of seven subscales the mean patient ratings for the two venues showed statistically significant differences: “Accommodation and Facilities” and “Waiting Times”. In both cases the differences were very small. Internal consistency of subscales ranged from 0.36-0.81 with only three subscales showing good or acceptable values: “Conduct of Employees”, “Expertise of Employees” and “Arranging Appointments”. This translated and adapted PREM can be a useful tool to standardise assessment and reporting of patient experiences of first-time HA users in the UK.