Research Aim To develop a measurement tool that captures patient and family experiences of care at East Cheshire Hospice in order to help to shape services and to measure the impact of Hospice care.

Background Collecting healthcare feedback is problematic. One particular criticism levied at the sector more generally is linked to the lack of systematic data collection processes (Picker Institute Europe, 2009) with “attempts to measure patient experience (…) hindered by a proliferation of instruments using various outcome measures with varying degrees of psychometric development and testing” (Beattie et al., 2014). Different tools have been applied within the Hospice context (see for example http://www.helpthehospices.org.uk). However, what works most effectively within this context remains unclear.

Methods We use service blueprinting, a technique described by Bitner et al., (2007, p.4.) as “a powerful technique that (…) can facilitate the detailed refinement of a single step in the customer process as well as the creation of a comprehensive, visual overview of an entire service process”. Data collection is via qualitative methods (n = 40 individual interviews).

Results Using an interactive delivery style, our key findings outline which factors contribute to the service experience of each community. They also indicate which forms of feedback are preferable to each community and the timing of this feedback collection.

Conclusions Our conclusions contribute to a better understanding and differentiation of the experiences of the different communities using the Hospice environment.

Application to hospice practice Service blueprint of the Hospice experience.

Information regarding the type of data collection tools to use, design and when to administer them.