by Jane Adams
When Lisa Vaters came to the Emergency Department at Winchester District Memorial Hospital in November, she was anxious. “Everyone is nervous going into a hospital on a good day, let alone during a pandemic,” says Lisa. “But I couldn’t ignore what was going on.”
Lisa says her fears quickly subsided. “Everyone was fantastic. There was someone right at the door explaining what to do. From there, a nurse listened to my concerns, tests were ordered, and I was provided with good care. Everyone was kind, respectful and supportive.”
Lisa says that it was the little things that meant a lot. “The doctor actually sat down to talk to me. Someone brought me a warm blanket. And even listening to the staff working so well together on the other side of the curtain was comforting. It was music to my ears.”
“Every day, staff and physicians at WDMH work hard to make each patient and family experience the best it can be,” explains Cholly Boland, CEO. “We are very proud of the most recent patient satisfaction survey results, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The quarterly surveys ask patients about their overall care and if they would recommend the hospital to their family and friends. For surveys conducted from April to June 2020, 96% of patients would recommend the Emergency Department to family, above the provincial average of 93%. For WDMH’s maternity program, 100% of the respondents said they would recommend this service; higher than the provincial average of 97%. Likewise, 98% of Day Surgery patients would recommend WDMH’s service, where the provincial average was 97%. And on the Medical/Surgical Unit, it’s 94%, above the provincial average of 93%. The data is collected by National Research Corporation Canada (NRCC), an independent research institute.
Lisa Vaters says that based on her experience, she is not surprised to hear these results. “I actually started to cry – but in a good way,” she smiles. “I knew I was in the right place.”
“It’s a team effort,” sums up Cholly Boland. “Patient satisfaction is a result of the patient’s entire experience and involves every person the patient had contact with – from our COVID-19 screeners at the front door to support staff that work behind the scenes.”
