Communicating For Safety

Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights

The Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights outlines the rights of everyone seeking or receiving care in the Australian health system. The rights included in the Charter relate to access, safety, respect, communication, participation, privacy and comment. Click here for more information about the Charter
 

Feedback

We encourage patients to tell us about their experience in our hospital. This feedback helps to guide important improvements in the care and services we provide. It is used to make sure our hospital is meeting or exceeding industry standards.

After you are discharged, you will receive an invitation via email, to participate in ‘our complicity experience survey’. Please note that taking part is voluntary and your responses will be anonymous and your privacy protected.

Feedback can also be made by discussing issues with the:

• Nursing Staff
• Allied Health Staff
• Doctors
• Nurse Unit Manager
• Allied Health Manager
• Hotel Services Manager

If unresolved, the Department Manager will escalate the complaint to the Chief Executive Officer/Director of Nursing. The hospital executives will discuss the issues with you and explain the complaint management process. You can also provide feedback here.

Open Disclosure

Every patient has the right to be treated with care, consideration and dignity. At this health facility we respect this, and we’re committed to improving the safety and quality of the care we deliver. That’s why we have a policy of open disclosure in case things don’t go as planned with the care provided. Open disclosure assists patients when they are unintentionally harmed during health care.

What is open disclosure?

Open disclosure is an open discussion about incidents that cause harm to a patient. If you have been harmed during your treatment, your doctor, nurse or other healthcare worker should talk to you about it. Toronto Private Hospital encourage their staff, as well as patients and their family or carers, to identify and report when things go wrong or when patients are harmed so that care can be improved.

When would open disclosure occur?

Most things that don’t go to plan in health care are minor and are found before they affect you. For things which don’t result in harm, your doctor or nurse will talk with you about what went wrong in the same way they talk with you about other aspects of your treatment. They should talk with you as soon as they are aware of the incident.

If you are seriously harmed, you will be informed as soon as possible and an open disclosure meeting will be held. If you think a serious incident has occurred which has not been acknowledged, tell your doctor, nurse or other health service staff.

What is the benefit of open disclosure?

Open disclosure is designed for when things don’t go to plan in health care. It will:

1. Inform you, and help you to understand what went wrong with your care.
2. Let you know what is being done to investigate what went wrong.
3. Explain the consequences of the incident for you and your carer.
4. Assist you with any support you might need.
5. Let you know the steps Toronto Private Hospital will be taking to make care safer in the future.

Privacy

Our doctors, nurses and other staff are bound by law and by a strict code of conduct to maintain confidentiality of patient information.
 

We comply with the commonwealth Privacy Act 1988, the National Privacy Principles (NPPs) and with applicable state privacy laws.

Information we collect

We collect your personal details and medical history so we can provide you with treatment and advice. Test results and further information collected while you’re being treated in hospital are kept with your medical record. We only collect information that is relevant and necessary for your treatment and to manage our service.

While the hospital maintains its own paper-based medical record, some of the information stored electronically is linked on an organisation basis. We take all reasonable steps to ensure information we collect about you is accurate, complete and up-to-date.

We take reasonable steps to ensure information we collect about you is stored securely. We are required by law to retain medical records for certain periods of time depending on the type of record and facility.

Information we collect may include:

• Name
• Date of Birth
• Address
• Email address
• Contact Numbers
• Financial details (e.g. health fund details, person responsible for the account)
• Health history
• Family history
• Information that we consider necessary to assist our staff in your diagnosis and treatment.

Why this information is collected?

If you are to receive or have received a service from any Aurora Healthcare facility, we will collect and hold your personal information to:

• Provide the required treatment, service and advice
• Administer and manage those services, including charging, billing and debt collection
• Contact you to provide advice or information relating to your treatment
• Conduct appropriate health insurance eligibility checks
• Improve the quality of our services through research and development
• Conduct regular surveys to gain an understanding of individual needs
• Maintain and develop business systems and infrastructure to improve the service we provide.

VIEW PRIVACY POLICY