News

Albury-Wodonga Private Hospital named NSW’s best

Sep 28, 2010

Albury-Wodonga Private Hospital is New South Wales best private hospital, according to a nationwide survey of patient satisfaction conducted by Medibank Private.

Albury-Wodonga Private Hospital achieved an outstanding rating of 78 out of 100 in Medibank Private’s Hospital Experience Survey, out scoring many larger city based hospitals for the prestigious prize.

Armidale Private Hospital and Tamworth’s Tamara Private Hospital also scored 78 and shared first place with Albury-Wodonga Private Hospital. With other regional hospitals also doing well, the Survey shows private health system is catering well for the needs of patients outside of capital cities.

To obtain the result, Medibank Private analysed 21,000 responses covering 144 private hospitals in the largest and most authoritative survey of its type in Australia. The Survey covers every stage of the hospital experience, from pre-admission to discharge and follow-up, with respondents sharing their thoughts on everything from the standard of medical treatment provided to privacy levels, food quality and cleanliness.

“We are really thrilled with this award and our achievement. It is very rewarding for our staff and doctors to receive this feedback independently,” said Albury Wondonga Private Hospital Chief Executive Officer Roger Snell. “We have a great team at Albury Wodonga, who work very hard to ensure our patients have an excellent experience and they really deserve this accolade.”

Nationally, the Survey showed an overall increase in satisfaction with the hospital experience when compared with the 2009 Hospital Experience Survey. Medibank Private Chief Executive Officer, Bruce Levy, said the survey indicates private hospitals are doing a good job of delivering the healthcare their patients want.

“The Survey results indicate that, overall, Australians are very satisfied with the standard of care provided in the private health system. This is important because people who take out private health insurance want to know they’ll have access to services that suit their individual needs. This Survey shows private hospitals are delivering this.

“One of the key features of this research is that it is from the patients’ point of view. New South Wales hospitals improved significantly in comparison to last year’s Survey, so clearly Medibank Private members are appreciating the efforts of the hospitals and staff.

“We’ll now prepare detailed reports for each of our partner hospitals, clearly showing the areas where patients said they were doing well as well as areas where improvements could be made.” Mr Levy said.

Nationally the survey showed high levels of satisfaction with clinical staff, including the standard of care and bedside manner. However staffing levels were less satisfactory, many respondents left unimpressed by the availability of nurses both during the day and at night. Differentiating the roles of hospital staff was also an issue.