Good results for NSW public hospitals in survey of 17,000 patients
The Bureau of Health Information (the Bureau) has today released the first results of the NSW Adult Admitted Patient Survey, reporting responses from more than 17,000 adult patients of NSW public hospitals during the first six months of 2013.
The survey is part of the NSW Patient Survey Program managed by the Bureau.
For the first time, the Bureau has published the results using its new interactive online tool Healthcare Observer, allowing users to view and download survey findings.
The Bureau's Chief Executive, Dr Jean-Frederic Levesque said:
"This wide-ranging survey provides up to date information about patient experiences in NSW public hospitals. The majority of respondents report positive experiences of care and say that staff communicate effectively and treat patients with respect and dignity."
The results of the survey include:
- 91% of surveyed patients rate their overall experience in a NSW public hospital as either 'very good' or 'good'
- 85% of surveyed patients report that they were 'always' treated with respect and dignity
- 90% of patients report that clinicians explained things in a way that they could understand either 'all' or 'most of the time'.
Most patients (96%) said they wanted to be involved in decisions about their care and treatment. When asked if they were actually involved in such decisions, 93% of these patients said they were either 'definitely' or 'to some extent' involved.
Patient responses in NSW were on the whole very positive and the survey identified some areas for improvement. When patients were asked whether they could get assistance within a reasonable timeframe, 41% responded 'all of the time', 44% responded 'most of the time', 12% 'some of the time', 2% 'rarely' and 1% 'never'.
Just over a quarter of all respondents (27%) said they had worries or fears about their conditions or treatment, when asked if their worries or fears were discussed with a healthcare professional 37% of paitents said 'yes completely' 44% of paitents 'yes to some extent' and 19% per cent said their fears were not discussed with a healthcare professional.
"These survey results provide valuable information about how patients perceive their experience of hospital care. This feedback allows hospitals to understand what is being done well and to identify where improvements are needed," said Dr Levesque.
For more survey results, please visit our interactive online reporting tool, Healthcare Observer at www.bhi.nsw.gov.au/healthcare_observer