Mid North Coast public hospital care rates well, range of views on food

Most public hospital adult inpatients surveyed across the region in 2021 have given a thumbs up to their care, a report shows.

The Bureau of Health Information's report into patients' experiences in NSW hospitals includes a Mid North Coast Local Health District snapshot.

The survey asked patients admitted to 87 public hospitals statewide about their experiences across a range of aspects of care during January to December 2021.

That was when the health system was responding to the Delta and Omicron variants of COVID-19.

More than 1100 patients surveyed from across Mid North Coast Local Health District provided positive feedback on the care they received with 94 per cent rating their overall experience of care as either very good or good.

Nearly all patients - 96 per cent - rated the doctors who treated them as very good or good. Similarly, 95 per cent of patients rated the nurses who treated them as very good or good.

Patients also had their say on hospital food. Some 66 per cent of those surveyed rated Mid North Coast public hospital food as very good or good, 22 per cent thought it was neither good nor poor and eight per cent gave the food a poor rating. Four per cent thought it was very poor.

In the month following their discharge, six per cent of Mid North Coast patients surveyed were readmitted to a hospital or went to an emergency department because of complications related to the care they received.

Almost all Mid North Coast patients surveyed thought the health professionals were kind and caring.

Mid North Coast Local Health District chief executive Stewart Dowrick thanked patients for their feedback.

"Our staff have worked exceptionally hard to improve the care they deliver to their patients, and we will continue to so, but it is gratifying to see most patients rating their care so positively, particularly during such a challenging period with the Delta and Omicron waves of COVID-19," Mr Dowrick said.

"Kempsey and Macksville were standouts, receiving some of the best results in the state from patients across an array of questions, including timely and coordinated care, cleanliness, communication and privacy."

For the 2021 survey, Bureau of Health Information analysed results for patients from 46 urban hospitals (8,973 patients) and 41 larger rural hospitals (10,331 patients).

For most questions, there were no significant differences between rural and urban patients in their ratings of care including for involvement in decision-making, clear information and effective communication.

Port Macquarie Base Hospital

Kempsey District Hospital

Macksville Hospital

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