The majority of patients in NSW public hospitals during the height of the pandemic were happy with the care they received despite the ongoing challenges of COVID-19, according to the latest Bureau of Health Information Emergency Department Patient Survey.
Deputy Secretary of NSW Health, Matthew Daly said almost nine in 10 patients in NSW public hospitals rated their experience of care highly between July 2021 and June 2022.
Professor Daly said the overwhelmingly positive ratings were a clear testament to the fantastic efforts of staff across the State’s public hospitals.
“The NSW public health system is recognised as one of the best in the world, providing safe, high-quality care to more than three million people who visit our emergency departments (EDs) throughout the state every year,” Prof Daly said.
“The results reflect the dedication of our strong healthcare workforce who worked hard to adapt health services during the COVID-19 pandemic, while also balancing unprecedented demand, additional infection control measures and high numbers of staff furloughing.”
He said almost 22,000 people were surveyed about their experiences of care in NSW Eds, with a majority of patients (88 per cent) rating their overall care as ‘very good’ or ‘good’.
Prof Daly said the BHI Healthcare in Focus report, also released last week, showed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the public healthcare system in NSW.
“At the height of activity in 2022, patients continued to rate paramedics care very highly, with almost all (98 per cent) saying their care was ‘very good’ or ‘good’,” the Deputy Secretary said.
“Demand for ambulance services reached unprecedented levels in 2021 and 2022, with sharp rises in the most serious triage categories,” he said.
“Elective surgery was also impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, with non-urgent and some semi-urgent elective surgery suspended several times between 2020 and 2022 to ensure sufficient hospital capacity was maintained to respond to the pandemic and to protect patients and staff.”
