Media Releases
Quality Improvements
WIMMERA HEALTH CARE GROUP LISTENING TO THE COMMUNITY
Wimmera Health Care Group have implemented a range of changes after receiving feedback from the community.
Quality Manager Leanne Seipolt said the changes have come about from information and feedback received through an internal private patient survey, the Victorian Healthcare Experience Surveys and other internal processes.
Mrs Seipolt said the changes ranged from improving the comfort of parents staying with their children overnight to increasing parking spaces near the Emergency Department (ED).
“The range of improvements is quite large and goes from things that directly improve an individual patient experience through to reviewing organisational processes to improve our overall systems,” Mrs Seipolt said.
“These changes all came about from feedback from consumers and what we want to highlight is how important their feedback is.
“The changes show we not only take feedback, but we really value it and listen and make improvements where we can.
“We are very thankful for all the consumers who have taken the time to give us their feedback.”
Some of the changes implemented are listed below:
• Discharge summary for ongoing care and management is provided to patients on discharge as well as being sent to their General Practitioner.
• Purchased new fold out beds for family members to stay with their children or new fathers to stay with over with their partners.
• Provided a bench set seat outside of the Arapiles Building for clients to wait to be picked up after appointments.
• Increased the amount of hand hygiene gels in the ED and waiting room.
• Developed an information poster for consumers regarding the ED such as wait times, accessing food while they wait.
• Reviewed the cleaning process in the ED.
• Developed a calling card for when patients are out of their rooms and their rooms are cleaned so they know they have been serviced.
• Developed a formal system for when carers/patients want to escalate care.
• Opened a 90 bay car park for staff and community members at the back of the Horsham hospital building.
• Provided several car parking spaces between the ED and the Arapiles Building for visitors/patients.
• Provided a space in the Arapiles Building for mobility aids (gophers) to be charged if needed in a designated area for when clients are being seen by clinicians.
• Applied for and received funding to allow at redesign part of ED for to keep violent patients from potentially harming other patients.
• New signage for the toilets in the ED to alert staff if they need cleaning.
• Reviewed the private patient packs for patients, these now include children packs and adults now have choice of packs offered.
• Blood collection at Dimboola Campus commenced at the Dimboola Medical Centre in February 2016.
“At Wimmera Health Care Group we are always working to improve our services and feedback from consumers is integral to that process,” Mrs Seipolt said.