Over 70 percent of patients waited more than the 6 hour target time to be admitted to hospital this year.

A new survey by the HSE has also revealed that 84 percent said their hospital stay was good or very good.

The results from the first ever patient experience survey have been published today and will be used to improve the quality and service in hospitals.

Nicole Gernon reports:

Over 14-thousand people responded to the first patient experience survey after being a hospital stay in May.

Of these, over 70 per cent waited more than the 6 hour target time to be admitted.

Just under half of people said that they could not always find a member of staff to talk to about their worries or fears.

HIQA says waiting times and concerns around discharge or transfer showed the greatest need for improvement.

Over a third of patients said they were not involved as much as they would have liked to be in decisions about their care, while food was another area of complaint.

Health Minister Simon Harris welcomed the results and says his department is in the process of completing a bed capacity report which will give an idea of geographical requirements for not just now, but into the future as well.

Around 84 per cent of patients said their overall hospital stay was good or very good and that they had confidence in the staff.

The HSE says it's already started implementing individual action plans for each hospital based on the relevant feedback. 

This survey will now be completed every year and could be expanded to include other areas such as Maternity Care.