Department of Health

Improving the patient experience in emergency departments

Key messages

  • A series of initiatives to improve the emergency department (ED) patient experience have been undertaken by health services.
  • Strategies for improving the experience of Aboriginal people in the ED grew out of a project involving local health services.
  • Signage, consumer information in waiting rooms, and help for older patients now contribute to an improved ED experience.

Health services aim to improve the patient experience in the emergency department (ED) through communication strategies that inform patients and carers about emergency care, by improving amenities that make waiting rooms more comfortable, and by ensuring all waiting room patients are appropriately monitored.

Publications

Improving the patient experience for aboriginal people in the emergency department

Final report released in 2010 summarising key findings of a project focussed on improving the patient experience for aboriginal people in the emergency department
Publications

Improving the patient experience program - Wayfinding and signage guidelines (2009)

Wayfinding and signage guidelines released in 2009 to assist public hospitals in Victoria to improve the experience of patients visiting their emergency departments through improved signage. These guidelines are relevant for staff responsible for managing emergency department patient experiences or ...
Publications

Welcome to the Emergency Department

Welcome to the emergency department brochure for distribution at triage desks designed to meet patient and carer needs upon arrival in the emergency department, during care and at discharge.
Publications

Improving the Patient Experience Program - Improving the environment for older people in Victorian emergency departments (2009)

Final report released in 2009 based on the findings of a project which looked at improving the environment for older people in Victorian emergency departments.

Reviewed 12 May 2025

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