Accolades for private hospital patient care

The 2020 APHA Awards for Excellence will be announced next month, with finalists including a palliative care service offering patients support to die at home, a driving service that gets patients to and from their dialysis appointments, and a mental health support program.

The awards will be presented at the APHA 39th National Congress gala dinner, celebrating private hospitals’ achievements in three categories: clinical excellence, comprehensive care and consumer partnerships.

Australian Private Hospitals Association (APHA) CEO Michael Roff said the awards were developed to recognise the high quality of care Australians receive from private hospitals.

“The diversity in the entries for each category highlights the scope of care private hospitals provide. These are all innovative programs designed to improve patients’ experience and improve care or access to care,” he said.

Roff said one of the great things to come out of these programs is the additional unintended benefits for patients.

“The Epworth Eastern’s program of volunteers driving renal dialysis patients to their appointments and home again has not only made it easier for patients to get care, but also created new friendships and broken the social isolation that often comes from having a serious illness and challenges in accessing transport.

“Another is South Australia’s St Andrew’s Hospital’s critical bleeding working group, a program set up to improve timely administration of blood for patients requiring massive transfusions. Not only has this led to reduced wastage of blood products, but the group also developed a purpose-built Massive Transfusion Shipper now used by the South Australian Ambulance Service.

“These programs illustrate the patient focus of our private hospitals, and it is important to celebrate those successes,” he said.

Attendees at the APHA Congress will have a role to play in determining the winners. Finalists will present their work during a session at the APHA Congress and delegates will vote for the best entries. The delegate vote accounts for 5% of the final score.

Finalists

Clinical excellence — quality of care and patient outcomes

• Sydney Adventist Hospital: San community palliative care service
• Ramsay Health Care: Ramsay national mental health programs
• St Andrews Hospital: Critical bleeding working group

Comprehensive care

• Epworth Eastern: Renal dialysis patient transport vehicle program
• Friendly Society Private Hospital: Culture of accountability

Consumer partnerships

• Bethesda Health Care: Consumer partnership committee
• Westmead Private Hospital: Luxury maternity unit
   

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