Patient care, treatment and concerns

Patient expectations

What can you reasonably expect as a patient at a health care facility in NSW?

You can expect appropriate treatment for your condition, the best possible care at all times, to be treated with respect, to talk to someone immediately about your concerns.

The NSW Patient Safety and Clinical Quality Program outlines what you might reasonably expect if you are admitted as a patient to a hospital or require treatment from a health service:

• appropriate treatment for your condition when you need it
• the best possible care at all times, based on the latest evidence
• to be treated with respect and have easy and honest communication with the doctors, nurses and other health care professionals who are providing care to you
• to be looked after by clinicians who have the necessary clinical skills for the work that they do
• those who provide care to you are well-supported and part of effective teams, and have access to the resources (including equipment and information) they need to do their work
• systems that are designed to prevent inadvertent or accidental harm to you while in hospital
• if you have concerns, you will be able to talk to someone immediately and have your concerns addressed to your satisfaction
• if something goes wrong with your care, that there is a system in place to openly report, investigate and fix the underlying problems so that others are not harmed. In addition, you will be told openly and honestly what went wrong and receive an apology
• eassurance that there is an external body evaluating the safety of care in hospitals and working to improve quality and safety in the NSW health system.

Patient expectations have been incorporated into standards and performance measures developed to monitor the effectiveness of the implementation of the NSW Patient Safety and Clinical Quality Program which is now managed through the Clinical Excellence Commission.

Tips for Safer Health Care

The 10 Tips for Safer Health Care document - an initiative of The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care - advises patients to take part in decisions, learn about their condition and treatment, understand their medication, and discuss treatment options with their health care givers.

10 Tips for Safer Health Care

Privacy

Your concerns will be treated confidentially and only discussed with people who need to be told about it.

The NSW public health service is committed to safeguarding the privacy of patient information. Our doctors, nurses and other staff are bound by law and a strict code of conduct to maintain confidentiality of patient information.

For more information, see patient privacy.

Advertised health benefits

Advertising a product or service as having health benefits is a health claim. Health claims are regulated by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

For more information, see Advertised health benefits.​