SWAN Hill District Health believes a low response to its recent patient survey means the results won’t be an accurate representation of the “overall experience of patients”.
There were mixed results in the October to December 2022 quarter of the Victorian Healthcare Experience Survey Adult Emergency Survey.
For the period, 200 patients were invited to participate in the survey and just 21 people did.
Chief executive Peter Abraham said given this low volume of responses, the margin of error was “quite large”.
“We do not believe the results to be an accurate representation of the overall experience of our patients, however we will still use the feedback provided to guide local improvement activity,” Mr Abraham said.
The VHES Adult Emergency Survey asks patients discharged from a public hospital emergency department about their experience.
Patients are invited to complete a survey in the month after they are discharged.
All patients that have a mobile number or email address recorded by the hospital receive a link by SMS or email.
The health service’s best score was 97.1 per cent for arrival at the emergency department category.
Patients were asked if it was clear who to talk to when first arrived at the department.
The service also scored high for useful information about risks and benefits of care options (79.7 per cent), being treated fairly (86.4 per cent), being treated with respect (84.4 per cent) and feeling safe (82 per cent).
Its lowest performances were in communication to patients, with 34.7 per cent responding they received useful information about managing their health and care at home, 37 per cent responding they were informed about different options for care, 35 per cent were advised on feedback about care received and 34 per cent on how to access follow-up care.
Mr Abraham said SHDH was committed to providing “timely, outcome-focused” care.
“We are always keen to hear from patients and their families about their experience so we can continue to improve our service,” he said.
“The VHES Adult Emergency Survey is a great learning tool to see how we can do better, but given we are a smaller health service with less patients to survey, it’s just one of the many ways we engage with our community about their health-care needs.”
The survey recently transitioned from a paper-based survey to digital, with participation generally increasing statewide.
SHDH had a doubling in participation in the survey in the January to March 2023 quarter.
Mr Abraham said work was being undertaken to identify barriers to engagement, particularly in vulnerable populations, such as culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
“In addition to this survey, we also participate in Care Opinion, an independent site where anyone can share their stories about their experience of care as well as receiving feedback from patients directly,” he said.
