Enhancing information for Aboriginal patients

Northern NSW Local Health District’s Aboriginal Health Leadership Team have used information about Aboriginal patients’ experiences collected as part of BHI’s Adult Admitted Patient Survey to inform improvement efforts.

A range of information is provided internally to local health districts (LHDs) and specialty networks about Aboriginal patients’ experiences of NSW healthcare services – including data tables and patient comments – that complement BHI’s public reporting.

In reviewing the 2022 results for Aboriginal patients in Northern NSW, the LHD team identified that Aboriginal patients provided significantly lower ratings than non-Aboriginal patients for five survey questions relating to clear information and effective communication.

They could also see a common theme in the free-text survey comments that Aboriginal patients provided: dissatisfaction with the amount of information provided to them about their condition or treatment – both during their hospital admission and after discharge.

With the aim of enabling Aboriginal patients to feel more informed about their hospital care, the Northern NSW team created information packs to be handed out to every patient who identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. The packs include information about patients’ rights and responsibilities, contact details for the local Aboriginal liaison officer, and information about accessing health and wellbeing programs.

They also hosted roadshows at local hospitals to present the survey’s findings, celebrating where Northern NSW had done well in providing care for Aboriginal people, as well where there was room for improvement.

The result of this program of work was evident in the 2023 Adult Admitted Patient Survey results, released in August 2024. These showed tangible improvements from a year earlier in Aboriginal patients’ ratings for survey questions relating to clear information in Northern NSW.

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