Most children and adolescents who were patients of Dubbo Hospital during 2017 had a “very good” or “good” overall experience but they did not always understand the advice of doctors and nurses.
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Results of the Bureau of Health Information’s (BHI) Admitted Children and Young Patient Survey from January to December 2017 show Dubbo Hospital lagging behind state data in the communication and information category.
Almost 2300 NSW parents with children aged up to seven years were asked if health professionals had explained “things in a way your child could understand” with 56 per cent answering “yes, always”, 35 per cent “yes, sometimes” and nine per cent “no”.
Twenty-seven per cent of 30 respondents at Dubbo Hospital answered “yes, always”, 59 per cent “yes, sometimes” and 13 per cent “no”.
In NSW, almost 4450 children and youth aged eight to 15 years were asked if doctors and nurses explained “things in a way you could understand” with 65 per cent answering “yes, always”, 31 per cent “yes, sometimes” and three per cent “no”.
At Dubbo Hospital 76 children and youth aged 8 to 15 years were surveyed with corresponding results of 50 per cent, 45 per cent and five per cent.
Sixty-six per cent of 9486 NSW parents answered “very good” and 29 per cent “good” when asked about the overall care of their child.
Corresponding results from 142 respondents at Dubbo Hospital are 62 per cent and 31 per cent.
In NSW, 6265 children and youth aged eight to 17 years rated their overall care with 58 per cent declaring it “very good” and 35 per cent “good”.
There were 103 respondents to the question at Dubbo Hospital with 49 per cent answering “very good” and 45 per cent “good”.
The BHI reports that the survey reflects the experiences of care of 11,374 children and youth in 46 NSW public hospitals in 2017.
Depending on the patient’s age, the survey was completed by either the parent, the child or a combination of both.
