Hospital staff to sign patient care pledges

For the first time in western NSW patients now know exactly what to expect from the care provided by staff at Western NSW Local Health District (LHD) hospitals and Multipurpose Services as staff sign up to the pledges.

During October and November Health District staff from its 37 facilities have signed a Patient Pledge or Resident Pledge that will be displayed in each facility.

Narromine Hospital Manager Jodie Wason said staff have been invited to sign the Patient and Resident Pledges to show their commitment to providing care to patients in a respectful, caring and timely way.

"Our patients and residents are to be at the very heart of everything that we do and every decision that we make," she said.

"The pledge sets expectations of our staff behaviour and demonstrates our commitment to patient-centred care."

The pledge signing is part of a broader strategy for the Health District called "Living Well Together" which underpins the way in which the health district does business in accordance with its core values of collaboration, openness, respect and empowerment.

Western NSW LHD Chief Executive Scott McLachlan said the Living Well Together strategy aimed to engage staff to achieve excellent patient care and improve the patient experience.

"The pledge will confirm to patients that their caregiver is committed to taking wonderful care of them which helps to reduce their anxiety. Their family is also comforted to know that their loved ones are in good hands," Mr McLachlan said.

"From our staff perspective, signing the pledge sets the standard of care that is expected of them - always. It demonstrates the difference that making a commitment like this makes in the work they do every day".

Patients will have access to the 'pledge' at their bedside and are encouraged to speak to the person in charge of the unit if they are concerned about their care.

"Our commitment to these standards and behaviours is not optional and staff can expect feedback from their manager should these minimum expected standards of clinical care not be provided," Mr McLachlan said.

"It also means we can easier recognise high performance in staff, which is another important aspect of Living Well Together".