Accreditation

East Sydney Private Hospital is fully accredited against the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards (NSQHSS), a mandatory set of standards established by the Australian Government for all public and private hospitals.

Accreditation assessment occurs every three years by an independent team of expert health professionals who visit the hospital and review in detail the quality and safety of services provided by the hospital.

East Sydney Private Hospital underwent its most recent accreditation assessment in May 2024, successfully meeting all 140 mandatory actions. These assessments are now conducted at short notice and may occur at any time within a three-year period. ESPH has demonstrated it has robust quality and safety systems, ensuring that complying with the requirements of the National Standards is simply business as usual.

At East Sydney Private Hospital, we strive to provide exceptional patient-centred care. We closely monitor our quality and safety performance against other similar private hospitals and against national industry benchmarks, and regularly report and analyse these results for continued improvements to our care delivery.

Explore below to see how our team at East Sydney Private Hospital addresses important quality areas of assessment.

PATIENT SAFETY & QUALITY INDICATORS HOSPITAL PERFORMANCE
Year of Assessment 2020 2021 2022 2023 Benchmark Benchmark Group
Accreditation N/A N/A
Patient Satisfaction 95% 95% 95% 96% N/A N/A
Infection Rates 0.17% 0.23% 0.08% 0.09% 0.16% PHBG
Hand Hygiene 82% 83% 84% 87% 80% NHHI
Patient Falls 0% 0.06% 0.06% 0.02% 0.24% PHBG
Medication Errors 0.5% 0.37% 0.39% 0.15% 0.12% PHBG
Medication Errors Requiring Medical Intervention 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% ACHR - pg 86
Pressure Injuries 0% 0.02% 0% 0% 0.25% PHBG
Adverse Events from a Blood Transfusion 0% 0% 0% 0% 0.08% ACHR - pg 54
Unplanned Return to the Operating Theatre 0.32% 0.09% 0.08% 0.08% 0.19% ACHR - pg 54
Unplanned Transfer to a Higher Level of Care 0.22% 0.08% 0.11% 0.05% 0.26% PHBG
Unplanned Readmission 0.32% 0.12% 0.06% 0.1% 1.18% ACHR - pg 54

Patient Satisfaction

East Sydney Private Hospital believes in patient-centred care. We are committed to providing patients with the best possible experience during their hospital stay. Our staff believe that care should be respectful of and responsive to the values, needs and preferences of our patients and their carers.

We encourage feedback from patients and their carers through our patient satisfaction surveys and post-operative phone calls. Our patient surveys are adapted from the Australian Hospital Patient Experience Question Set (AHPEQS) developed by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care for use in both public and private health services.

The rate displayed is the % of respondents that selected ‘Very Good’ or ‘Good’ to the question “Overall, the quality of the treatment and care I received was:

Completion of our survey is voluntary and anonymous. Information obtained is used to improve our care delivery.

Members of the East Sydney Private Hospital consumer group also meet regularly to plan, design, implement and assess systems that are patient-centred and consumer-focused. If you are interested in participating in our consumer group, please click here.

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Infection Rates

East Sydney Private Hospital implements rigorous systems to prevent and manage Healthcare-Associated Infection (HAI).

The risk of transmission of HAIs is minimised through education of staff and patients, monitoring of processes and systems, and surveillance of any infection occurring as a result of care provided by the hospital. These processes and systems have ensured that there have been very few instances of Healthcare-Associated Infections at ESPH.

One of the most effective ways to prevent infection from spreading among patients is for all health professionals to wash their hands.

For more on the National Standards for controlling and preventing infections, please click here.

Our Hospital Acquired Infection rates are below our benchmarking group average*

*East Sydney Private Hospital is a member of the Private Hospitals Benchmarking Group

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Hand Hygiene

Hand hygiene is the single most important action in preventing the spread of infection in a healthcare setting.

All East Sydney Private Hospital staff carry out the 5 moments in hand hygiene at all required times. Hand Hygiene education is mandatory for all staff on a yearly basis.

Patients and visitors will also be encouraged to carry out appropriate hand hygiene through the use of alcohol-based rubs located throughout the hospital.

ESPH participates in regular hand hygiene audits, and the results of these audits are relayed to the relevant internal committees.

For more on the National Hand Hygiene Initiative, please click here.

Our rate of staff Hand Hygiene compliance is above the national benchmark target*

*National Hand Hygiene Initiative

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Patient Falls

Falls are a leading cause of hospital-acquired injury and can prolong or complicate hospital stays. East Sydney Private Hospital implements robust systems to prevent patient falls and to minimise the harm from falls.

Processes are in place to prevent patient falls, including patient screening and assessment, staff and patient education, safety equipment such as hoists, walking aids and adjustable chairs, and ongoing physiotherapy review and assistance when required.

Our rate of falls is below Industry benchmarks*

For useful information on the prevention of falls, please click here.

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Medication Errors

Medicines are commonly used to treat various conditions in a healthcare setting, so it is important to measure the risks of errors.

ESPH has medication administration policies and processes that have been developed using best practice principles and within legislative frameworks.

Medication errors are taken very seriously, and staff are encouraged to report any incident, regardless of how minor it might be.

All medication incidents are investigated and actioned through our Medical Advisory Committee and our Quality and Risk Committee. Our displayed rates combine both documentation and administration errors.

To date, ESPH has no medication errors requiring further medical intervention.

Our medication error rates are within 0.03% benchmarking group average*

For more on the National Medication Safety Standard, please click here

*East Sydney Private Hospital is a member of the Private Hospitals Benchmarking Group

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Pressure Injuries

Pressure injuries are wounds that form because of prolonged pressure to an area of skin (what were once called bed sores). Pressure injuries are recognised worldwide as a common cause of harm to patients and may cause significant pain and discomfort, resulting in a slower recovery.

At ESPH, we use validated risk assessment tools to manage patients at risk of pressure injuries. Staff take every action to reduce the likelihood of a pressure injury occurring whilst in our facility.

Our patient-acquired pressure injuries are well below national benchmarks rates.*

For useful information on the prevention of pressure injuries, please click here

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Blood Transfusions

A blood transfusion is the transfer of blood or blood products into a patient’s vein, usually via an intravenous cannula. Transfusions may be necessary when a patient has lost large amounts of blood, is unable to produce enough of their own blood, or has blood cells that are not functioning properly.

Transfusions are carried out on doctor’s orders by qualified nursing staff, in accordance with the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards, and only with the patient’s consent. ESPH audits every episode of transfusion on a regular basis. 

To date, East Sydney Private Hospital has had no adverse events or complications resulting from a blood transfusion.

Our rate of adverse events from blood transfusions are below industry rates for Australian hospitals.*

*Australian Council of Healthcare Standards: Australasian Clinical Indicator Report 23rd Edition

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Unplanned Return to the Operating Theatre

Unplanned returns to the operating theatre are usually due to post-operative complications, such as unexpected bleeding or other problems occurring early after the operation.

East Sydney Private Hospital monitors any unplanned theatre return. This data is used to determine if any action is required.

Our unplanned return to operating theatre rates are below industry benchmarks*

*Australian Council of Healthcare Standards: Australasian Clinical Indicator Report 23rd Edition

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Unplanned Transfer to a Higher Level of Care

Following surgery, patients require close monitoring, usually in the Post-Anaesthetic Care Unit (PACU), also called the Recovery Unit.

Occasionally, a patient may have an unexpected reaction to the anaesthetic or an unforeseen complication from their surgery and will require an unplanned transfer to a hospital with specialist equipment and medical teams. The decision to transfer a patient to another hospital is made by the surgeon and the anaesthetist or the attending doctor. This is a very rare occurrence at ESPH.

Every episode of a transfer to a higher level of care is reviewed by the Medical Advisory Committee and the Quality and Risk Committee to assess if there were any preventable factors.

Our Transfers to a Higher Level of Care rates are below our benchmarking group rates. *

*East Sydney Private Hospital is a member of the Private Hospitals Benchmarking Group

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Unplanned Readmission

Patients may sometimes require an unplanned readmission after being discharged from the hospital. There are many reasons why a patient may need to return to the hospital, such as a surgical wound infection that occurred after discharge.

Comprehensive discharge planning helps reduce the rate of unplanned readmissions. This includes making follow-up arrangements with your doctor or physiotherapist if required, providing patients with clear post-operative instructions, and helping patients recognise symptoms that require medical attention.

Our unplanned readmission rates are below the Industry benchmarks for hospitals. *

*Australian Council of Healthcare Standards: Australasian Clinical Indicator Report 23rd Edition

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Thank you for your interest