Patient experience and quality of care
We are committed to providing an exceptional patient experience. This includes treating you with dignity and respect, explaining things to you clearly, listening to you and understanding your individual needs and preferences and working with you to make decisions together.
At The Bays, we take pride in our attention to detail. In addition to our patients’ medical needs, this may include physical comfort and emotional needs. A holistic approach to care requires a coordinated effort in all areas and by all our people.
We have a culture of excellence and continuous improvement. Our Consumer Engagement Committee meets regularly to ensure we are providing the best possible healthcare experience to patients, and includes a number of patient/consumer representatives. The committee focuses on reviewing patient feedback, monitoring our compliance with the National Safety and Quality Healthcare Standards, and implementing changes to make our patient experience even better.
How we measure patient experience
Feedback from our patients is an important element to ensure our patients feel safe and confident in the quality of their care and have a positive patient experience. It also helps to identify opportunities to improve how we deliver our care.
One way we monitor patient experience is by regularly surveying patients about their hospital stay from admission to discharge at The Bays. Satisfaction surveys are available from the reception desk at our hospital or on our wards. A copy is also available in the patient information folder available in our hospital rooms.
If you have a comment or complaint, please bring the matter to the attention of a staff member on duty at the time, or to the manager of the ward or department. Our staff want to resolve issues quickly, but they need to be told about them first. It is our policy to follow up any issues brought to our attention and to pursue a satisfactory resolution.
If you or a family member can see ways that our services can be improved, please share them with us, and let our staff know.
To give us feedback about the care or services you have received at The Bays, please complete our online feedback form.
If you are not satisfied with the way your complaint is dealt with, you can contact an independent complaints resolution body such as the Office of Health Services Commissioner (OHSC).
Our current performance
We are very proud that in the 2023/2024 financial year, 99 per cent of our surveyed patients stated that they would return to The Bays and would recommend it to others.
Falls prevention
In hospital, injuries from falls are one of the leading causes of harm – and in some cases death – experienced in older Australians. At The Bays, we take falls seriously and work with you to prevent them.
When there is a fall, we investigate to identify learnings or opportunities for improvement to enhance the care we provide. These learnings are shared across the organisation to ensure that the care we provide is evidence-based, best practice and consistent.
We benchmark our falls performance against the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare’s Hospital Acquired Complications dataset.
We consistently perform better than the average rate reported by the Commission.
Pressure injuries
Pressure injuries are an international patient safety risk and can cause the patient severe pain, longer hospital length of stay and increased care needs when patients return home. A pressure injury may also be known as a bed sore or pressure ulcer. At The Bays, we strive to help keep you safe from pressure injuries.
We consistently perform better than the average rate reported by the Commission.
Patient safety
Access the results of our safety and quality assessments via the Safety in Healthcare website.
Your healthcare rights and responsibilities
To ensure you receive the best quality care it is important that you understand your rights and responsibilities.
Download a summary of our responsibilities, your rights and your responsibilities (PDF).
Your rights
The Bays Healthcare Group respects your right to participate in health care choices that affect you. As such you have a right to:
- Access, and receive, the best health care available.
- Be treated respectfully and with regard to personal dignity at all times.
- Be treated without discrimination in any form.
- Have your cultural and religious beliefs respected.
- Feel safe, clean and comfortable within the hospital environment.
- Be informed, prior to and during admission, about your treatment, investigations or operation and the alternatives available in terms you can understand.
- Be accurately and adequately informed about the hospital services available and the cost of your care and stay in hospital.
- Ask questions about your treatment and obtain a second opinion should you wish to do so.
- Give your informed consent for medical treatment; you also have the right to refuse treatment. You may also appoint someone to make medical decisions for you in the event you lose the capacity to do so.
- Participate in decisions made about your ongoing needs upon discharge and receive information about available services.
- Discharge yourself against your doctor’s advice, however, you will be asked to sign a form accepting responsibility for your decision.
- Be informed about the information that is collected about you and who has access to it.
- Have your personal privacy and the confidentiality of personal information, conversations and medical records maintained.
- Request access to your medical record, this will require completion of a form and a small fee will be charged. Requests should be made via the unit manager, hospital supervisor or health information manager. Access may be denied, but you have the right to contact the Health Services Commissioner for further advice.
- Know the identity, professional status and qualifications, and how to contact the staff involved in caring for you.
- Receive visitors and contact people outside the hospital during your stay.
- Access an accredited interpreter for essential information such as admission, and discussions about your medical history and treatment. Please inform your nurse or doctor as soon as possible if this service is required.
Your responsibilities
To assist hospital staff in providing you with the best possible health care, it is important that you take responsibility for:
- Understanding and keeping a record of your treatment and medications.
- Providing hospital staff with accurate and relevant information about your health, present treatment and circumstances that may influence your treatment, recovery or stay in hospital.
- Following your prescribed treatment.
- Informing the appropriate person if you are not able to keep an appointment.
- Telling hospital staff if you notice changes in your condition.
- Being considerate and respectful of staff and other patients and asking your visitors to be likewise.
- Accepting responsibility for your own health care and for the decisions you make about your own care and treatment.