At the peak of the pandemic most patients in Wollongong emergency department said their care was good or very good, with doctors and nurses also receiving glowing reports.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
However, the hospital was among the state's worst performers when it came to patient safety, with almost one in six people saying they felt threatened by other patients or visitors at the ED.
This was the lowest safety score for Wollongong in this question in the past five years, according to a new survey, and "significantly lower" than other EDs around NSW.
Statewide, 91 per cent of patients said did not feel threatened by other patients and visitors, and, of comparable hospitals, only Liverpool, St Vincents and Westmead performed worse than Wollongong.
The annual survey from the Bureau of Health Information asked people about their hospital experiences in the 2021-22 financial year, with Wollongong Hospital mostly performing close to average.
Covering the period from when the Delta wave was hitting in July 2022 through several waves of Omicron cases, the BHI results catalogue the experiences of 300 patients who presented to Wollongong emergency department in that time.
Statewide, almost 22,000 patients who were admitted to 77 large emergency departments were surveyed.
Asked to rate the ED staff who treated them, 62 per cent of Wollongong patients said the nurses and doctors were 'very good' while another 27 per cent said they were 'good'.
Two thirds of Wollongong ED patients surveyed said they would speak highly of their experience to family and friends.
When it came to communication, 64 per cent said they received no information about how long they would have to wait for treatment and about one in five patients said they did not receive enough information about their condition.
Nearly one in 10 patients (9 per cent) said their care in the ED did not help them, while 46 per cent of patients said they did not or couldn't remember receiving a document summarising their ED care for follow up with their GP.
BHI Chief Executive Dr Diane Watson said there were increased pressures on the health system statewide during the survey period.
"It's important to remember that this survey was in the field when health services and staff were managing the Delta and Omicron waves," said Dr Watson.
"This included additional preventative measures to ensure the safety of staff and patients, which may have affected experiences of care."
Patients from Shellharbour and Shoalhaven EDs were also surveyed, rating their health professionals and the care they received highly.
In Shellharbour, 94 per cent of patients said they did not feel threatened by other patients or visitors.
You can read our stories without having to sign in all the time by downloading the app in the Apple Store or Google Play.
Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
