PATIENT satisfaction at Werribee Mercy Hospital has risen slightly, an annual government report shows.
The Victorian Patient Satisfaction Monitor July 2010 to June 2011 reported that patients rated their hospital experience 77.1 out of 100.
In 2009-10, the rating was 76.3.
The voluntary surveys ask patients to rate services including admission, care provided by doctors and nurses, complaints management, meals, physical environment, discharge and follow-up.
More than 28,000 surveys were completed across Victoria in 2010-11.
The survey rates hospital satisfaction out of 100, from ‘poor’ (20-40), ‘fail’ (41-60), ‘good’ (61-80) an “very good’ (80-100).
The average rating for hospitals similar to Werribee Mercy was 78.3.
Mercy Health executive director Richard Ainley said emergency department delays may have caused the hospital to score lower than hospitals of a similar size.
“We know the most frequent dissatisfaction with our services relates to waiting times for emergency care,” he said.
“As a community hospital, in a rapidly growing region, we know this will continue to be among our biggest challenges.”
Mr Ainley said a number of initiatives aimed to improve emergency department wait times.
“The recent recruitment of two new general surgeons has improved our ability to provide emergency surgical care, and we’ve boosted new monitoring and diagnostic equipment.”
Mr Ainley said the hospital’s own ward surveys showed patients were quite satisfied with its staff.
“Most often, patients identify staff as the most positive aspect of care at Werribee Mercy Hospital, which is a great credit to our dedicated teams.”
Patient satisfaction across the western suburbs was at a similar level to Werribee, with Williamstown Hospital rated 78 out of 100, Sunshine Hospital 69.1 and Western Hospital 70.4. Djerriwarrh Health Services in Melton received the region’s highest rating of 83.5.
Health Minister David Davis said the surveys highlighted the positives about public hospitals and pointed out areas needing improvement. These areas included food quality, storage , waiting room comfort and restfulness of hospitals.
