Hospital scores well
A survey conducted by private health fund Medibank Private has revealed patients of Brisbane Waters Private Hospital in Woy Woy are amongst "the most satisfied in Australia".
Medibank Private surveyed 4964 people from NSW on a range of topics related to their hospital stay, including food and accommodation, cleanliness, and the quality of care received.
According to Medibank Private representative Mr James Conners, results were then calculated to produce a Member Experience Index score in which Brisbane Waters Private Hospital achieved NSW's second highest rating of 75 out of 100, above the national average of 70.
The survey also found the standards of care delivered by clinical staff are highly regarded.
Mr Conners said ratings for the skills and knowledge of doctors was especially positive, with 96 per cent of patients rating them good or better.
Similarly, 90 per cent of patients rate the levels of clinical skill and knowledge amongst nurses as good or better.
Medibank Private chief executive officer Mr Bruce Levy said this was good news for local hospital users.
"The survey has returned some terrific results for our partner hospitals across NSW and for Brisbane Waters Private Hospital in particular," Mr Levy said.
"In general, private patients are very satisfied with their hospital experience, which means private hospitals are doing a lot of things right.
"What was very pleasing to see is smaller hospitals are doing so well.
"In fact the survey reveals the hospitals that are performing best in terms of patient satisfaction are not the big, well known inner-city hospitals, but smaller hospitals located in suburbs and regional centres.
"Of course there are areas where hospitals can do more to meet patient expectations."
Mr Levy said members reported noise and disturbances, privacy issues, and shared bathroom facilities as their greatest reasons for dissatisfaction.
"Informed financial consent on fees charged by doctors and pathology providers also continues to be a problem.
"Over a quarter of patients reported they were not advised, or not advised correctly, of the gap charged by their treating specialist, with the performance of supporting doctors, in particular anaesthetists, poorer again.
"Of greatest concern however are gap fees for pathology tests and x-rays.
"Two thirds of patients reported not being advised that they would need to pay a gap for these services, and this is just not good enough.
'Doctors and hospitals need to take the issue of informed financial consent seriously.
"We encourage members to talk to doctors about fees, but inevitably it is something that some patients will find difficult to do."
Press release, 15 Sep 2009
James Connors, Medibank Private