Changes Made to services in Scotland over the last year

Working in Subscriber Support, I meet people who are passionate about using the Care Opinion platform for many reasons. Often, people want to know what they are doing well in health and care services, to allow staff to receive praise from the people who receive their care, and to show they are listening to the voices of the public. They also want to know what could be improved in their services and, most of all, they want to learn from the stories told, whether positive, critical, or a bit of both. Each story gives an insight into the patient or service-user experience, carrying its own unique value for the people listening and responding.

When staff respond to feedback, it opens up a conversation and connects the anonymous story-teller to the people working in the service, allowing the potential for learning and change to happen.

Staff can add Change logos to their responses, if they are planning or making a change as a result of the feedback, giving details of these changes in the response itself.

"Change is the end result of all true learning." — Leo Buscaglia

A huge percentage of the stories told on Care Opinion are completely positive. From these, staff can learn what they are doing well, and work to continue and ever improve in these areas. They may even want to replicate good practice in other areas of a service they are part of, or reflect on why these positive experiences happen in some areas, but not others.

Stories with critical feedback are equally insightful and provide an opportunity to plan or make a change for one individual, for a group of patients/service-users or for a whole department, service or location.

Changes Made in Scotland in the last year

Since January last year, at the time of writing this, 25 changes have been made to services in Scotland as a result of feedback on Care Opinion. You can see all stories with a change made in Scotland since January 2025, here.

96% of these stories had an element of criticality, so the majority of changes made were in response to critical feedback, with an aim to improve on the experiences shared.

What follows are just some of the brilliant changes made to services in Scotland. The hope is that these will inspire you to think about the feedback you see and the impact it has on people using health and care services. If you are a responder, I hope these examples shine a light on what can be possible and encourage you to think outside the box when engaging with story authors.

You can access each complete story and the responses via the pink links or the text images.

Posters and Resources - NHS Ayrshire & Arran

Adrenal Insufficiency Care | Care Opinion

This story highlighted concerns around staff awareness, when caring for someone with Addison's disease:

Staff in the Health Board responded with contact details to discuss the specific case further, and to update on changes made to the service as a result of the feedback:

The author responded back, showing appreciation for the changes made and expressing how safe this made them feel:

Staff Training - NHS Lothian

A failure of communication 

This story highlighted a lack of communication and information for the patient, which left them feeling confused and upset:

Staff responded, with a detailed apology and later informed the author that staff in the service will be provided with a communication course:

"The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists." - Japanese proverb

Catering services and Staff Training - NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde

Excellent staff that need better resources 

This story highlighted issues with the size of meals and availability of extra food to people on the ward:

Staff responded, saying they would make changes to the catering provided and include training for staff involved in food provision: 

Window Adaptations - NHS Grampian

Fantastic care during my stay | Care Opinion

This author talked about the great care they received but also mentioned problems with the ward temperature. They also said that on another ward, having open windows really made a difference to this:

Staff responded, planning a change to the ward, and updated at a later date, letting the author and public know that windows had been adapted in each room, to allow a cooler temperature for patients:

Wall Pictures - Perth & Kinross Health & Social Care Partnership

Explained everything very nicely | Care Opinion

The young author of this story had a good experience but also highlighted that they found the pictures in reception scary to look at:

Staff responded apologising and letting them know they have now removed the picture in the waiting room:

The author was very grateful, and left this comment:

Test Sample Containers - South Lanarkshire University Health & Social Care Partnership

Claudication Service | Care Opinion

The author of this story highlighted the difficulties they have in getting a container, in order to provide a sample to the service:

The service responded, planning a change and later responded with a change made to the provision of sample pots to patients:

Moving Forward

“Words are where most change begins.” — Brandon Sanderson

These are just some of the amazing changes made in Scotland since January 2025, and we continue to see more published every week. Well done to all staff who respond and take action to make services better for all who use them.

Moving forward, we would love to see critical stories continue leading to change, as well as an increase in positive feedback being used by services to plan and make changes. A recent example of this, from the Western Health & Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland Dementia Service:

The full story and response can be read by clicking the above image or here: https://www.careopinion.org.uk/1414259.

You can read more on planning and making changes here: Showing whether feedback leads to change | Care Opinion