Auburn staff and patients share what quality means to them

From accurate paperwork to a simple smile, more than a hundred staff and patients have shared what ‘quality’ means to them at Auburn Hospital.

Quality and Accreditation acting manager Sally Henderson said the aim of the ‘Quality for Me’ project was to ensure quality is embedded in everything staff do every day.

“Often we think of quality in relation to clinical care, but it’s related to what we all do, whether we are clinical or not. It’s just as important for the receptionists or the cleaners,” Sally said.

“The project aimed to promote this concept and encourage staff to think about how they can improve the quality of care they provide. This could be through treating patients or supporting other staff to do so.”

The WSLHD Clinical Governance team spoke to patients, visitors and staff in the hospital foyer and visited wards and departments.

Most patients identified that caring and supportive staff were most important, as well as understanding what was happening to them.

The result was 123 staff and patients answering what quality means to them, with responses from a range of staff including nursing, medical, allied health, security, cleaning services, translation services and administration.

Staff were also provided promotional materials to help understand quality, including the My Patient Safety Checklist and the Quality Management Framework. 

Responses are being collated and added to feedback received through other means including Feedback Friday and the Patient and Carer Experience Annual Report, with a working party set up to review how best to respond to the feedback and improve Auburn Hospital.

Any community members who would like to regularly give feedback to improve Western Sydney health services should read more here and contact Community and Consumer Partnerships officer Tara Lee on 0437 874 244.

If any staff would like to be involved in this working party, please contact Sally.Henderson@health.nsw.gov.au.