Listening to Young Voices: What the 2024 CQC Survey Reveals About Children’s Hospital Experiences

The Children and Young People’s Survey 2024, conducted by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), offers an in-depth look at the experiences of children, young people, and their parents or carers during hospital visits. This year’s survey reflects significant updates to its structure and questions, making the results incomparable to previous versions like the 2020 edition.

About the Survey

In 2024, responses were gathered from 25,821 children aged 0 to 15 who attended hospital between March and May. Among them, 12,917 children and young people aged 8 to 15 provided direct feedback. The survey utilised three separate questionnaires:

• One for parents/carers of children aged 0 to 7

• One for children aged 8 to 11

• One for young people aged 12 to 15, with space for parents’ input

This redesign aimed to improve the relevance and accuracy of feedback from all age groups.

Key Findings

Positive Experiences

Despite the challenges of a hospital environment, the majority of respondents reported positive experiences:

• 73% of children aged 8 to 15 said they were ‘very well’ looked after.

• 87% of young people (12–15) felt involved in decisions about their care.

• 92% of parents and carers felt involved in their child’s care as much as they wanted.

• 81% of parents said they ‘definitely’ received understandable information about care and treatment.

• 83% of children and parents said they ‘always’ had enough privacy during treatment.

• 95% of parents could be with their child as much as they wanted.

• 74% of parents felt staff ‘always’ treated them with dignity and respect.

These findings indicate a strong emphasis on communication, privacy, and family involvement.

Areas Needing Improvement

However, the survey also highlighted areas where hospital care experiences fell short:

• Only 62% of parents who raised concerns felt these were ‘definitely’ taken seriously.

• 32% of parents said their child’s existing needs (e.g. disability, language) were only partly or not at all considered.

• Among those who waited in hospital, 37% said help was either not available or only sometimes available.

• 40% of parents said staff were not always aware of their child’s medical history.

• 41% of parents of children aged 0–7 felt staff didn’t always listen to their child’s fears.

• 35% of young people (8–15) said they were not around people their own age on the ward.

These findings point to gaps in responsiveness, personalised care, and age-appropriate environments.

Experiences Across Different Groups

The survey also found that experiences varied significantly across groups:

• Children admitted in emergencies had notably worse experiences compared to those with planned admissions.

• Children with mental health conditions, autism, or disabilities reported lower satisfaction in several aspects of care.

• Younger children (0–7) tended to report worse experiences than older children.

• Experiences were generally better for ages 8–11 and mixed for ages 12–15.

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Using the Findings

The insights from this survey are used in multiple ways:

• The CQC uses them to assess the quality and risk of services.

• NHS trusts use them to identify areas needing improvement.

• NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care use the data for national performance assessment and policy making.

Each NHS trust has received a benchmark report with their own scores compared to others, enabling targeted improvements at the local level.

The 2024 Children and Young People’s Survey provides a valuable overview of hospital care experiences from the perspective of some of the most vulnerable patients and their families. While there are many positives to take away, the results also serve as a call to action for addressing gaps in responsiveness, inclusivity, and child-friendly environments. The detailed benchmark and open data released alongside the report provide a roadmap for trusts and policymakers to drive meaningful improvements.