Everyone likes to be praised for a job well done and our patients and service users have been giving us great ratings or simply saying thanks for being there.

Their feedback and the work of the nationally recognised and independent feedback site iWantGreatCare (iWGC) will be featured in a special programme on BBC Radio Oxford  tomorrow (Saturday, May 2).

Tune in at 9am to hear the Jon Twinn, managing director of the Oxfordshire-based IWGC, talk about his organisation’s work, how they’ve adapted during Covid to allow people to simply say thank you, and what the reviews mean to the NHS heroes on the frontline.

Joining them will be Oxford Health’s chief nurse Marie Crofts who will be telling listeners about how the trust is coping during the pandemic and how proud she is of our staff who have continually risen to the challenges created by coronavirus.

She will also explain the importance of reviews – their impartiality, the good ones and the bad.

Every month we get feedback on a range of our community and mental health services – from minor injuries units in Abingdon, Witney and Henley, out of hours services, district nurses, Hospital at Home and specialist teams like health visitors, respiratory nurses to the many in-patient and community mental health settings.

Marie said: “We take on board all our feedback. We are exceptionally lucky to receive a high volume of ratings, many of them five star and lots that specifically praise individuals.  Scores measure views on dignity, respect, involvement, recommendations, information and our staff.

“Our people do the jobs they do to help others, and when they are told by patients so publicly that the way in which they treated them was amazing, there really is no better feeling. Good reviews really raise morale and make all the difference.

“Equally when we receive less favourable reviews, it gives us valuable opportunities to reach out, look at issues in a team or service and identify ways in which we can make things better for our patients. We always strive to provide the very best service we can.”

An example of the feedback informing service change has been the “My journey” app.

Being co-produced with service users who told us they were daunted by their mental health experiences,  the app is set to provide an extra layer of support through all stages of care with improved access to information and easier ways communicate.

Some recent positive posting have included

To everyone at Oxford Health, thanks for everything you are doing and keeping going. Much appreciated- thank you!

Very helpful in every way and couldn’t ask for more than we have had help with in every way – Childrens integrated therapy (OT)

To everyone at Abingdon Community Hospital at this time: thanks for keeping going and for what you are doing to look after the Abingdon community. Much appreciated- thank you!

The iWGC ratings have proved so popular at Oxford Health that there have been regular social media postings – on Five Star Fridays  and Well Done Wednesdays – to make sure both the public and staff are kept informed of reviews.

We hope to revive them again soon.