The new staff will serve as key liaison points for patients, families, and carers.
The Minns government comitted $10.6 million to expanding its patient experience officer program to all emergency departments across the state.
Patient experience officers aim to relieve pressure on busy healthcare workers and improve the wellbeing and experiences of patients, carers, and families by serving as a first point of contact for patients when they arrive in an ED.
Additional responsibilities include:
- Directing patients, families, and carers on where to go once they arrive in ED;
- Providing advice and information on ED process and wait times in an attempt to reduce stress and anxiety; and
- Ensuring access to food, water, free wi-fi, and charging stations or power banks while waiting to be seen.
The rollout comes after an earlier iteration of the program – which initially started in the Blacktown, Lismore, Liverpool, and Nepean Hospital EDs, before being expanded to an additional 17 sites – yielded positive results.
Over 85% of respondents in the Evaluation of the NSW Health Emergency Department Patient Experience Officer report felt the patient experience officer program was successful, with the officers rated highly on communicating to patients in the waiting room (90%) and managing patient, family, or carer stress and anxiety (82%).
Patient experience officer Sunita Oberholzer described the role as rewarding, and one that made a difference in their local community.
“Coming to work each day with the knowledge that I am going to positively impact many people’s days has been an immense privilege,” they said in a statement.
“It is deeply gratifying to know that you are helping patients and their families feel more comfortable with their hospital experience, especially during stressful times. This in turn creates a flow-on effect which improves the staff’s ability to provide exceptional care.”
Further details about the patient experience program can be found on the NSW Health website.