Patients in Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) continue to report very high levels of satisfaction with their hospital care, according to the Bureau of Health Information (BHI) 2019

Adult Admitted Patient Survey.

NNSWLHD Chief Executive Wayne Jones said the report shows that 95 per cent of patients across the District rated their care as either ‘very good’ or ‘good’.

If asked by family and friends, more than four out of five patients (81 per cent) said they ‘would speak highly’ of their hospital experience.

“Our staff should be really proud of the results in this report, in which the overwhelming majority of respondents have rated both the care, and the individuals providing that care, extremely highly,” Mr Jones said.

“One of the most pleasing aspects is the fact that these results build on previous years of consistently good results. This shows that patients in Northern NSW are regularly receiving excellent care, thanks to the expertise and compassionate care of our staff.”

On a local level Lismore Base Hospital statistics, although high were slightly down compared to their counterparts in Ballina, Byron Bay and Casino but well above the NSW average.

(Nurse Unit Manager Kym Hickey and staff from the F10 Surgical/Orthopaedic Ward. Photo: supplied)

Nearly nine out of 10 patients (88 per cent) said emergency department staff were always polite and courteous. Four out of five patients (80 per cent) rated their nurses as ‘very good’ with the NSW average of 75% while doctor satisfaction was 70% (NSW average 67%).

The Emergency Department is an area of concern with the amount of people that left the emergency department in under 4 hours was 69% (NSW average 75%), the amount of people who received elective surgery on time was 79% (NSW average was 85%).

Three-quarters of patients (75 per cent) said the care they received in hospital was ‘very well organised’, the highest result in NSW.

Nearly nine out of 10 patients (89 per cent) said they were ‘always’ treated with respect and dignity, and 95 per cent of respondents said they received the ‘right amount’ of information about their operation or surgical procedure before arrival at hospital.

Between mid-2012 and mid-2020 the Northern NSW Local Health District increased its workforce by an additional 1008 full time equivalent staff – an increase of 26.7 per cent including 171 more doctors, 367 more nurses and midwives, and 121 more allied health staff.

The 2019–20 budget for Northern NSW Local Health District was $875 million – an increase of $37 million on the previous financial year’s budget.