The Northern Beaches Hospital is administered through a public-private partnership between NSW Health and Healthscope.Credit:Nick Moir
While the story would not be acceptable in any NSW public hospital,it is notable that this shocking tale is not from a skeleton-staffed regional multipurpose health service.
This is a patient’s experience at Northern Beaches Hospital,a major healthcare facility in one of the wealthiest – and,as theHerald reported last week,healthiest – parts of Sydney. It is a new hospital administered through a public-private partnership between NSW Health and Healthscope.
Ten years ago,NSW’s Bureau of Health Information released a specialist report into the experiences of people with a disability in the state’s hospitals.
While the data – drawn from 250,000 patient surveys of people admitted to NSW public hospitals – found patients with disabilities had a positive experience overall,patients with disabilities responded more negatively about their experience than those without when answering 26 of the survey’s 48 questions.
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Only 40 per cent of patients with disabilities said they received sufficient help from staff to eat their meals,and patients with disability were less likely to say they had opportunities to talk to a doctor when needed or received assistance within a reasonable timeframe.
Similar research at this scale has not been published publicly since. However,several reports issued by the Physical Disability Council of NSW – including the one released today – have raised concern about the impact of staff shortages,what it sees as inadequate training,bed space and how people with disabilities are treated at hospital.