One in 10 visitors to Wollongong Hospital's emergency department feel threatened by other patients according to a new survey.
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Meantime 18 per cent of survey respondents said they witnessed aggressive or threatening behaviour towards ED staff at the hospital during their visit.
The responses formed part of the Bureau of Health Information's statewide survey of almost 16,000 patients in 82 EDs from July 2017 to June 2018.
More than 300 patients who presented to Wollongong Hospital's ED during that time responded to the Emergency Department Patient Survey - with parking, seating and odours other issues identified.
For instance more than a third of respondents reported a 'big problem' with finding a parking place near the ED; another third thought it was a 'small problem' while the remaining third had no trouble parking close by.
A third of respondents also claimed that they experienced issues with seating, safety, noise, temperature or odour in the ED's waiting area.
Overall however, most patients were content with their care in the ED - with 87 per cent of survey respondents rating it as good or very good.
Nine out of 10 rated the ED health professionals who treated them as good or very good; and 67 per cent said that, if asked, they would speak highly about their experience to family and friends.
Six in 10 patients agreed that they were involved in decisions about their care and treatment; and 66 per cent felt involved in decisions about their discharge from hospital.
In terms of wait times, 70 per cent said they were triaged within 15 minutes of arriving; a quarter said it took 16 to 59 minutes while five per cent said it took from one hour to over two hours.
In total, a third of patients spent two to four hours in the ED; while four in 10 spent over four hours waiting.
BHI chief executive Dr Diane Watson said while the survey results were mainly positive across the state, they also revealed areas where improvements could be made to the delivery of care.
"We see considerable differences in the results for individual emergency departments throughout the state," she said.
"These results present a great opportunity for healthcare providers to learn from what their patients are telling us and identify areas where there are opportunities to improve."
