Patients rate their experiences in NSW public hospitals
The Bureau of Health Information (BHI) has today released survey results reflecting the experiences of more than 17,000 patients who were admitted to 77 NSW public hospitals in 2018.
BHI Chief Executive, Dr Diane Watson, said most patients in NSW provided positive ratings of their experiences of care in the Adult Admitted Patient Survey.
“Overall, almost all patients (94%) rated their care as very good or good,” Dr Watson said. “About eight in 10 patients (79%) told us they would speak highly of the care they received during their hospital stay if asked by friends and family.”
Patients were particularly positive about the healthcare professionals who delivered their care, and the results reflect notable improvements from the previous year’s survey:
- 76% of patients rated their nurses as very good – up from 71% in 2017.
- 72% rated their doctors as very good – up from 69% in 2017.
- When asked to rate how well health professionals worked together, 61% said very good – up from 58% in 2017.
The survey results also show areas where improvements could be made to the delivery of care, particularly when it comes to patients’ experiences when leaving hospital and how well prepared they feel to manage their condition at home.
“Just two-thirds of patients (66%) said they definitely felt involved in decisions about their discharge while about seven in 10 patients (73%) felt they were given enough information to manage their care at home,” Dr Watson said.
“Fully engaging patients and providing them with enough information at this critical point in their journey of care is important as it can improve health outcomes and reduce avoidable readmissions to hospital.”
Also released today are BHI survey results that reflect the experiences of more than 11,000 patients who received care in 44 outpatient cancer clinics across NSW in 2018. Almost all patients (99%) in the Outpatient Cancer Clinics Survey said overall, the care they received was very good or good.
Two Snapshot reports highlight key findings on the experiences of patients who completed the Adult Admitted Patient Survey 2018 and the Outpatient Cancer Clinics Survey 2018, with detailed results for both surveys in supplementary data tables.