OUTPATIENTS at The Tweed Hospital have delivered their verdict and given the facility some of the lowest ratings in NSW.

More than 6500 public hospital outpatients in NSW have taken part in a Bureau of Health Information report entitled Patient Care Experiences: Outpatient services in NSW public hospitals.

According to the report The Tweed Hospital was included in the lower

patient ratings section after being rated “poor” by 5% of patients, “fair” by 15%, “good” by 40%, “very good” by 28% and “excellent” by 12%.

Dubbo Base Hospital and Coffs Harbour Base Hospital, along with The Tweed Hospital, received the lowest number of “excellent” ratings in the State.

There were big differences between the highest and lowest-rated hospitals after about half of people described their care as excellent in the highest-rated hospitals compared with about 15% in the lowest.

It was not all bad news for the North Coast region however, with Murwillumbah District Hospital placed among the highest in the state, with 40% of patients rating their care as “excellent”.

A Northern NSW Local Health District spokesman said despite the report the new outpatient department provides important health care to the community.

“We believethe lower-than-average excellent ratings for outpatient services in the August 2011 Patient Care Experiences: Outpatient services in NSW Health is historical,” said the spokesman.

“The establishment of the purpose-built outpatient department at The Tweed Hospital, which was completed in March 2011, is enabling the better provision of a number of outpatient services.

“This improved outpatient service at the Tweed Hospital should be reflected in future patient survey results.

“We are very pleased at Murwillumbah hospital’s high ratings in the excellent field, which reflects on the hard work of the hospital’s clinicians and staff.”

Bureau chief executive Dr Diane Watson said finding out what matters most to patients shows hospitals the key areas they should target.

Across the state, aspects of care that patients rated highly included staff making the necessary arrangements for future appointments and being treated with respect. Examples of areas where patients gave low ratings were parking availability and being given a reason for their appointment running late

Outpatients are people who visit hospital for appointments but are not admitted. Services provided in outpatient departments include specialty clinics for diabetes, respiratory and cardiology patients and some allied health services such as physiotherapy, speech therapy and nutritional assessments.