A tale of a few hospitals

Abstract

Anne Cahill is a former CEO of Women's Hospitals Australasia andChildren's Hospitals Australasia, and a Fellow of the ACHSE."I would like to think that the patients in my hospital are treated in the same way that I would like my mother to be treated." . . . . More CEOs than can be namedI am currently in the unhappy position of suffering a life threatening illness that involves outpatient attendances, inpatient care and other services provided by four Australian public hospitals. Three of the hospitals are tertiary referral centres, hospitals that provide the top end of care for patients in my predicament. Two of the hospitals are located in regional Australia.I hope that this article will serve as a stimulant to all health professionals to undertake a reality check on whether the services they provide are patient focussed, consumer- and family- friendly in nature. My experiences in these four hospitals so far have been dramatically different, yet very little effort and little or no funding would be required to fix the hospitals where the service has been less than ideal.