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ED waiting room experience

Posted By Service-User

"ED waiting room experience"

About: Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital / Emergency Department

(as a relative),

I attended SCGH ED with a relative.

I wanted to provide some feedback on the patient journey

Firstly thank you to the hard working nurses and doctors in the unit. The demand for services clearly outstrips the ability to provide timely care to less urgent cases ATS 3/4/5. They did their very best within the resources they were provided. I understand patients are always seen in order of clinical urgency.

In my opinion, a few things to improve on

1) Communication :

Triage 4 patients average waiting time was reported to be appx 190 minutes on the waiting room screens (based on "Emergency department live activity" but staff were reporting 4-6 hour waits for assessment post triage. The reason for this discrepancy is unclear to me and concerns me given the time my loved one had to wait.

2) Administrative clerk desk

The Perspex glass as the reception desk made it very hard to communicate with the clerks who needed to use pen and paper to communicate.

Microphones to improve accessibility to communicate would be appreciated.

3) General upkeep and hygiene of the waiting room area.

Several chairs were broken and unusable, several were additionally very dirty. I did not see a cleaner once during my extended waiting room stay.

Thank you for taking these points on board to improve care delivery.

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Responses

Response from Jodi Graham, Executive Director, SCGOPHCG, Sir Charles Gairdner Osborne Park Health Care Group about a year and a half ago
Jodi Graham
Executive Director, SCGOPHCG,
Sir Charles Gairdner Osborne Park Health Care Group

Submitted on 1/12/2023 at 1:17 PM
Published on Care Opinion Australia at 1:51 PM

picture of Jodi Graham

Dear Service-User,

Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback and suggestions for improvement, following your visit with your relative to the Emergency Department (ED) at Sir Charles Gairdner hospital (SCGH).

I am pleased to hear that your overall impression of the healthcare staff working in ED was a positive one. It is always encouraging to hear that despite the many challenges faced by ED departments, we are so lucky to have such hard working and dedicated staff within our health system.

In response to your concerns, I would like to reassure you that all patients presenting to the ED are prioritised based on clinical urgency, however there are times when a large number of patients attend the Emergency Department. We acknowledge and regret that clearer information regarding waiting times was not communicated. We will reiterate with staff the importance of this and regular rounding of patients in the waiting room.

I acknowledge your concerns about the difficulty communicating with staff through the Perspex glass and concerns regarding broken chairs and I will ensure that they are reviewed and actioned.

I am excited to share with you the news of the redevelopment project for ED which is currently in the planning stages and the works are scheduled to commence later next year. We are keen to hear suggestions from patients and visitors about how we can improve the environment and I will ensure your feedback is provided to the project team for their consideration.

Once again, thank you for sharing your experience of our hospital service. It is important to us that we consistently try and improve the care and experience we provide to our patients, and your feedback assists us with that process.

Warm regards

Jodi Graham

Executive Director, SCGOPHCG

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