Improving the Patient Experience

In 2004-05, a physical audit of 25 Victorian hospital emergency department waiting rooms was undertaken in response to recommendations contained in the Auditor General’s May 2004 report Managing Emergency Demand in Public Hospitals. The audit identified a series of initiatives to improve the emergency department patient experience.

In response to the audit, the 2005-06 State Budget allocated an additional $2 million ($8.3 million over four years) to Victoria’s hospitals. Fieldwork and focus groups of consumers and clinicians were used to inform the development of the implementation initiatives. These included:

• Communication strategies to better inform patients and their carers about emergency care
• Physical amenity improvements to make waiting rooms more comfortable
• Improved procedures to ensure waiting room patients are appropriately monitored

An implementation plan was developed in collaboration with the Emergency Access Reference Committee (EARC) audit sub-committee. The sub-committee is chaired by Dr Craig Winter, Director of the Emergency Department at The Northern Hospital.

Improving the Patient Experience Program in Victoria’s public hospital emergency departments Summary report - May 2007 (PDF file 974KB)

Emergency Access Reference Committee (EARC) - ED Audit Sub-Committee Terms of Reference and Composition - Oct 2006 (PDF File 34KB)

Several complementary initiatives have recently been identified to improve communication and the overall patient experience. These include:

• Communication strategies to ensure patients and carers are better informed about emergency care
• Communication skills training for frontline emergency department staff
• A centralised consumer information system that includes printed, electronic and multimedia materials
• The development of a comprehensive waiting room policy
• The development of consistent and patient-friendly signage for Victorian emergency departments. The design specifications will be available in January 2006 and implementation will commence in March 2006.

Funds to improve physical amenity facilities in emergency department waiting rooms were distributed to metropolitan, rural and regional emergency departments in December 2005. These were used to improve signage and upgrade amenities to cater for special needs patients such as the vision or hearing impaired, the elderly, children and those with behavioural problems.

Signage Improvement Initiative/Emergency Departments Department of Human Services, Victoria Final Draft - 15/02/06 (PDF 1.17 MB)

A communication skills program for frontline emergency department staff has been developed and successfully piloted across four Victorian hospitals. This program will train up to 500 staff at locations throughout Victoria in 2006.

Communication Skills Training - Emergency Departments Training Pilot Final report - 23 January 2006 (PDF 523 KB)

Consumer Information Materials for Victorian emergency departments

To assist with the development of a comprehensive waiting room policy, the department has planned a series of additional initiatives to be implemented in 2006. These include:

• A workshop to examine the role of unpaid volunteers in the emergency department and to identify key principles that inform policy development and implementation
• An in-depth examination of the minimum requirements for waiting room supervision and the re-assessment of patients who wait longer than expected
• An investigation into the individual profile and clinical outcomes of patients who present to Victorian emergency departments but do not wait for treatment. DHS will determine the most effective strategies to manage and appropriately address their clinical needs.