How we use your feedback to improve – Past stories

How we use your feedback to improve – Past stories

You Said	We Did
A very large issue I have is that no one in the hospital knew where the disabled parking spots were. I asked reception, not sure, I asked the volunteer desk, not sure. Are you telling me that a hospital that size that is only 3 years old does not have any disabled parking spots? Where they are placed is very important as I drive with my hands which means I cannot use boom gates, if the disabled parking spots were down there I will never be able to use them in the future. Where do you park then when you have to go to the hospital?	Response from Eastern Health CEO: With regards to disabled parking spots, there are some 4 hour parks available out the front of Building B (the old hospital building) on Nelson Road that doesn’t require entry through a boom gate. I’m sorry to say, they are a little distance from the ward areas, but are the closest parks when attending a clinic appointment. I will make sure the reception staff are able to provide this information to people when needed as well, but please accept my apology they weren’t able to assist you when you asked.
At fracture clinic today people with lower limb injuries and elderly with walking frames were standing waiting as there were not enough chairs. People in wheel chairs have limited places to wait and were double parked across the front of seats. This blocked access for patients with frames, crutches and mothers with prams. Surely the design of the seating could be better to make room for wheel chairs. Packed in like sardines – it’s obvious why people get impatient and cranky when they have to sit and wait in a stuffy crowded room with next to no personal space. One poor mother had to ask 2 whole rows of people waiting to pull their feet in or stand as their knees still blocked the way to let her past.	Response from Eastern Health CEO: I was made aware of the space issues in discussion with one of the surgeons and have committed to review the current arrangements to see what else can be done here. I recognize it is less than ideal. This is a very busy clinic, and hence why we need to review all we can to alleviate the issue, through the redevelopment, we gained two additional floors of clinics, which has greatly reduced the pressure on this space and made the experience for both staff and patients a more positive one. I wanted to provide you with a further update re the improvements we are looking to make over the coming period to enhance the patient experience when attending specialist clinic appointments. These include: – Additional seating to be provided to patients and families at peak times so the area is not as crowded – Looking to implement a new communication and ‘check in’ system that will allow patients and families to utilize other facilities in the building when waiting for their clinic appointment. There are other initiatives that we are also exploring at present, but thought these two provided specific details based on your experience.
I was in the surgical admissions department at Box Hill Hospital for surgery and in the two waiting rooms they have, there are no TV’s. Only radios that don’t work very well. I was very bored. I had to wait for a few hours listening to static radio/occasional music.	Response from Eastern Health CEO: We have undertaken a review of waiting areas at Box Hill Hospital and are in the process of making improvements to make the environments more appealing. As a result of your feedback, I will seek confirmation of the timelines for these improvements to be made so the waiting time of others is improved.
I lost my previous pregnancy to anencephaly and am extremely sensitive about this current one particularly for the ultrasounds where they rule out abnormalities. I am booked into Birralee and called up to get my ultrasound done at Box Hill Hospital only to be told they have absolutely no availability. So now I am totally freaking out because I don’t know where to go or if wherever I end up will be able to do a good job or tell me if they see anything wrong.	Response from Eastern Health CEO: I wanted to provide you some feedback that we are currently working through an improvement project to create additional capacity within the ultrasound services, especially for pregnant women. While the issues are complex to resolve, we are doing all we can to make this vital service more accessible to our community and have taken your feedback very seriously.

 

Speech Pathologists working with consumers:

Our Speech Pathologists realised that consumers with communication difficulties (CWCD) didn’t always have the opportunity to provide feedback and Christine Stone, Associate Director Allied Health (Speech Pathology) and some of her team have made Change Day pledges and partnered with the Centre for Patient Experience to develop a strategy to raise awareness of CWCD and to find mechanisms to hear from them. This is essential for many compelling reasons. CWCD are:

• Three times more likely to experience an avoidable adverse event
• Routinely denied participation in their healthcare decision making
• Routinely selected out of patient feedback opportunities– they simply have less of a voice than other healthcare consumers

What changes have been made?

• Speech pathologists now conduct ward surveys with CWCD, as we know they are routinely excluded from this important data capture. This allows us to compare the experience of CWCD to other EH consumers and to learn from them. Adding their voice to the general database ensures it is more truly representative of our diverse patient population.
• Senior speech pathologists support members of the senior leadership team to conduct leadership walkrounds with CWCD. Consequently, even patients dependent on an augmentative communication device have been able to ‘have their say’.
• We have secured a seat at the Patient Experience of Care Expert Advisory Committee to ensure the needs of CWCD are raised.
• We have developed a database of stories from CWCD and are filming another. These stories – positive and negative – are used at the commencement of meetings, in reports and as an educational tool.
• We commence all our speech pathology meetings with a patient story of a CWCD.

We received the below feedback from a patient:

“This was my first time experience for an MRI. Instructions provided to find the facility were accurate and very good. The reception and introduction was very good and one would say ‘caring’ in nature. The explanation of the MRI machine, in particular the amount of noise was not well explained. As a first time experience it would have helped to hear a brief description of the different loud noises and that this experience is normal. Similarly there was no explanation of any possible side effects (or no expected side effects) for the MRI. The routine nature of the work and the attitude of the staff albeit ‘caring’ did portray its batch nature (unfortunately). After paying the account the challenge was to back track to the exit to find my way out (it was necessary to read signs pointing it the direction from where I had come). Following a coloured line maybe better.”

The patient’s feedback was passed on to MIA, a private company providing MRI services at Box Hill Hospital. We have installed the below temporary signage and our CEO wrote back to this patient thanking him for his feedback. The patient has since visited the hospital and told us the signs work and wrote: “May I extend my gratitude and appreciation to the improvements but most importantly the opportunity and processes that Patient Opinion has provided for patient comments and for these improvements to occur. Respect for opinions expressed, notification of intended actions and demonstration of those actions is very positive and an excellent illustration of the hospital’s commitment to continuous improvement. Thank you for listening and the opportunity to make an improvement.”

 

Barbecue brings better connections

A family barbecue initiative is bringing patients at Wantirna Health closer to their loved ones. Held once a month, patients are encouraged to invite family members to join them in the relaxed environment of Wantirna Health’s courtyard for a chat and barbecue lunch. Director of Nursing at Wantirna Health, Kathy Marshall, said the barbecue brings comfort to patients who may be missing home. “For our patients having a social lunch with family and fellow patients encourages bonding and helps assimilation into the ward,” Ms Marshall said.

“The initiative not only brings families together, but also gives patients a casual outdoor meal to make them feel more at home,” Ms Marshall said.

Ms Marshall said the initiative was just one example of Eastern Health’s commitment to patient and family centred care, with patients and families from Wantirna Health’s Geriatric Evaluation and Management ward and Palliative Care ward participating in the barbecue. “We are always looking for new ways to enhance the comfort of our patients and make their transition into hospital care as smooth as possible,” she said. “In fact, the idea of a barbecue lunch was suggested to us by one of our patients who missed his favourite meal. It really is the small pleasures in life that can make the biggest impact.”