The latest Adult Admitted Patient Survey from the Bureau of Health Information (BHI), which looked at hospitals in the Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) found their doctors, nurses and healthcare teams rated highly for 2023.

The BHI quarterly reports on patient treatment have not seen positive results for the Lismore Base Hospital (LBH) when it comes to emergency department treatment. However, this latest survey shows the great work our medical teams display on a daily basis.

The Adult Admitted Patient Survey, shows that 95 per cent of patients said the care they received at NNSWLHD hospitals was ‘very good’ or ‘good’.

For LBH, the very good score was 76%, 8% above the NSW average.

Almost all surveyed patients (97 per cent) rated the nurses who treated them as ‘very good’ or ‘good’, with 95 per cent rating the doctors who treated them as ‘very good’ or ‘good’.

LBH recorded a very good score of 83% for our nurses, which was higher than our doctor's score of 77%. Nurses were 6% higher than the state average, while doctors were 2% higher.

The majority of patients reported that staff were polite and courteous on arrival, health professionals were kind and caring, and they felt treated with respect and dignity during their stay in hospital.

LBH scored 88 to 90% on the questions above, with 81% saying they would speak highly of their hospital experience to family and friends.

Across the District, health staff were rated significantly above the NSW average for their teamwork and organisation, and for the cleanliness of health facilities.

NNSWLHD Chief Executive Tracey Maisey praised health staff for their unwavering compassion and commitment to providing the best possible hospital experience for their patients.

“Being in hospital can often be an unfamiliar and vulnerable experience, so it’s heartening to see that the majority of patients are reporting positive experiences of care,” Mrs Maisey said.

“Our health staff do an amazing job of providing compassion and kindness alongside their expertise, and I want to take this chance to thank them for bringing this to our patients each day.

“I also want to really thank our patients for taking the time to provide their feedback on these surveys. It’s so important that we hear from patients so that we can continue to improve our services.”

Individual hospital highlights:

BALLINA DISTRICT HOSPITAL:

• 95 per cent of patients rated the overall care they received as ‘very good’ or ‘good’.
• Almost all patients, 98 per cent, rated the nurses who cared for them as ‘very good’ or ‘good’
• 93 per cent said staff were ‘definitely’ polite and welcoming on arrival
• 85 per cent said they would speak highly of their experience if asked by family and friends.
• Overall, Ballina recorded nine measures, which were significantly above the NSW average.

BYRON CENTRAL HOSPITAL:

• 94 percent of patients rated the overall care they received as ‘very good’ or ‘good’,and 98 percent rated their nurses as ‘very good’ or ‘good’.
• 91 per cent of patients surveyed said the hospital areas were ‘very clean’.
• 92 per cent said they were ‘definitely’ treated with respect and dignity while in hospital.
• 86 percent of patients said the health professionals were always kind and caring.

CASINO & DISTRICT MEMORIAL HOSPITAL:

• Casino recorded 33 measures significantly above the state average, across areas such as overall care, trust and confidence, respect and kindness, communication, organisation of care and cleanliness.
• Almost all patients, (99 per cent) rated their overall hospital care as ‘very good’ or ‘good.’
• 93 percent said they would speak highly of their experience if asked by family and friends.
• 94 percent of patients said the health professionals were always kind and caring.
• 90 percent of patients said the care they received was ‘very well organised’.

GRAFTON BASE HOSPITAL:

• 96 per cent of patients rated their overall care as ‘very good’ or ‘good’.
• 91 percent rated the nurses who cared for them as ‘very good’ or ‘good’.
• 95 percent said the health professionals were always kind and caring.
• 88 per cent of patients said the hospital was ‘very clean’.
• In total, Grafton recorded 19 results significantly above the NSW state average.

LISMORE BASE HOSPITAL:

• 94 percent of patients rated the overall care they received as ‘very good’ or ‘good’.
• 93 per cent rating the doctors who treated them as ‘very good’ or ‘good’.
• 96 per cent rating the nursesas ‘very good’ or ‘good’.
• 94 percent of patients rated the teamwork of health professionals as ‘very good’ or‘ good’.
• 90 percent said the health professionals were always kind and caring.

MACLEAN DISTRICT HOSPITAL:

• 94 per cent of patients rated their overall care as ‘very good’ or ‘good’
• 97 percent rated their nurses as ‘very good’ or ‘good’.
• 91 per cent said the health professionals were always kind and caring
• 96 percent of patients rated the teamwork of health professionals as ‘very good’ or ‘good’.

MURWILLUMBAH DISTRICT HOSPITAL:

• Murwillumbah recorded 32 measures significantly higher than the NSW average, receiving positive feedback from patients for overall hospital care, organisation of care, respect and kindness, communication and involvement in decision-making, and cleanliness.
• Almost all patients, 97 per cent, rated the overall care they receivedas ‘very good’ or ‘good.
• 95 percent would speak highly of their experience if asked by family and friends, the highest result in the state.
• 94 percent said they definitely had trust and confidence in the health professionals.
• 97 percent of patients said the teamwork of health professionals was ‘very good’ or ‘good.’

THE TWEED HOSPITAL:

• 96 per-cent of patients rated the overall care they received as ‘very good ’or ‘good’.
• 95 percent rating the doctors as ‘very good’ or ‘good’.
• 97 percent rating the nurses as ‘very good’ or ‘good’.
• 93 percent of patients said the teamwork of health professionals was ‘very good’ or ‘good’.
• 88 per cent said the health professionals were always kind and caring.