Blacktown and Liverpool hospitals rank lower than average in BHI survey
Just over half of patients treated at Blacktown or Liverpool hospitals rated their overall care as "very good," compared to the 67 per cent statewide average of NSW public hospital patients.
Though fewer than six out of 10 patients at Blacktown and Liverpool hospitals reported that their care was "very well-organised" or "very clean".
Blacktown Hospital also scored poorly on patients' perceptions of how well health professionals gave them support with their worries or fears, while Liverpool Hospital ranked significantly lower on whether patients felt they were given enough information on how to manage their care at home.
Last month, images from Blacktown Hospital sparked fresh outrage over the state of NSW Health's system, including photos of a 70-year-old man sleeping on the floor while waiting for a blood transfusion.
Liverpool Hospital also has one of the state's busiest emergency departments, but this year the NSW government said it had success in significantly reducing emergency room wait times.
The local health districts that manage Blacktown and Liverpool hospitals were contacted for comment.
Acting chief executive of the BHI, Hilary Rowell, said despite its poor performance in the patient survey, Liverpool Hospital had lifted its game on some indicators since the last survey.
"When you do scrutinise the results, there are a number of hospitals where patients told us there is room for improvement," she said.
"But at Liverpool we saw a number of improvements in ratings too, and that was around health professionals working as a team and the way in which patients were involved in decisions about their discharge."
Overall, the survey shows NSW public hospital patients are generally satisfied with their care — with more than nine out of 10 public hospital patients in the state rating it as "good or very good".
"There were some highlights: More than seven in 10 patients said health professionals always listened carefully to their cares and concerns and that was one of the larger improvements with the 2023 survey," Ms Rowell said.
Regional hospital patients were more likely to give higher rankings to their care in the survey, which was completed by more than 25,000 patients in 2024.
But one of the biggest drops has been in patient satisfaction since the last survey was conducted related to hospital food — with only 21 per cent of patients saying their meals in hospital had been "very good", down from 24 per cent in 2023.
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