HOSPITAL boss Jan Filochowski has said he and his colleagues are detemined to improve outpatient appointments.

This comes after poor results were highlighted last week from a survey conducted early last year.

He said: "We are of course disappointed in the results of this survey, but since those patients attended our hospitals in spring of last year we have been working hard with our patients and staff to find out how we can improve the care and treatment our patients expect and rightly deserve in the outpatient setting.

“We are determined to improve the experience of our patients and have begun a comprehensive programme to do this led by our new medical director, who has 20 years experience of working in outpatient clinics in west Hertfordshire.

“Since the survey was carried out, we have opened a new purpose-designed outpatient department at Hemel Hempstead Hospital, which has greatly improved the environment for many of our patients.

"We have also looked at how our outpatient clinics could be run more efficiently and have worked with patients on improving signage to help people to find their way to their appointments more easily.

“As another example of our new approach, in the next couple of weeks we will begin to give patients a card to write down three key questions that they would like answered before they go in to see the doctor.

"This card acts as a reminder for the patient and they can also take the card away and review the answers in their own time."