Warrnambool Base and Camperdown hospitals are the best places in regional Victoria to be a patient, according to a new survey.
NO one usually wants to be in hospital, but at least Warrnambool Base and Camperdown hospitals are the best places in regional Victoria to be a patient, according to a new survey.
A state health department questionnaire has revealed that those two South West Healthcare hospitals are the best in regional Victoria in terms of patient satisfaction.
The questionnaire — the Victorian Patient Satisfaction Monitor — covered topics including admission, complaints management, physical environment and overall care.
South West Healthcare received an “overall care index” of 82.6, which placed them at the top of the table for its “category B”-sized hospitals in Warrnambool and Camperdown.
Western District Health Services, which operates the Hamilton Base Hospital, was a close second with a score of 82.4. The Wimmera Health Care Group placed third with 81.8.
The surveys were completed by randomly selected patients who had just returned home. They rated the hospital on everything from bathroom cleanliness to food quality, from nurse responsiveness to levels of privacy.
There are two categories above category B. The A1 section was topped by The Alfred hospital (77.5) and the A2 category was taken out by Peter Mac (81.9).
South West Healthcare’s result in the survey is its best ever, improving on its score of 80.1 in the 2010-11 survey and 79.4 in 2009-10.
South West Healthcare chief executive John Krygger said he was proud of the result, particularly as Warrnambool Base Hospital had opened its new $115 million acute wing and increased its number of inpatients by seven per cent during the survey period.
“We have usually performed reasonably well in this survey due to our high quality staff but now we also have first-class facilities to match,” Mr Krygger said.
“There is no better key performance indicator than the level of patient satisfaction.
“It is the ultimate reason why our dedicated staff comes to work and it is pleasing that this commitment has been acknowledged by so many of our patients.”