75
NPS
Ramsay NPS
Ramsay Australia achieves
full completion of patient
safety initiative
The Ramsay Way 2019 | 04 3
Survey reveals ‘world-class’
patient satisfaction across
Ramsay’s Australian hospitals
One year after Ramsay Health Care launched a major survey to better understand its Australian
customers’ experiences, new data has revealed world-class patient satisfaction scores
at its facilities.
Ramsay launched the internationally-renowned Net
Promoter Score (NPS) system across all sites in October
2018, following a successful pilot period.
The NPS is an index ranging from -100 to 100 that
measures customers’ willingness to recommend products
or services to others.
Patient satisfaction scores between 70 and 100 are
considered world-class. Ramsay’s latest quarterly score
across all Australian hospitals was 75.
Ramsay Australia CEO, Danny Sims, said: “It is fantastic to
see the latest scores pointing to very high satisfaction at
our facilities.”
“I want to congratulate and thank everyone who contributes
to delivering excellent care for our patients,” Mr Sims said.
Ramsay’s score was significantly higher than that of other
Australian industries, according to Cemplicity (a world
leader in patient reporting software). Cemplicity analysed
the NPS results of its Australian clients, revealing charities
recorded an NPS of 27, retail companies scored 15, financial
services received -2, energy companies were given -14.
Since launching this patient satisfaction initiative, more
than 260,000 surveys have been sent to people who
received treatment in Ramsay’s Australian facilities. This
has led to more than 80,000 patient responses across
62 hospitals and day surgeries.
Digital and Customer Experience Manager, Lyndall Plumb,
said the NPS was an indicator that Ramsay’s team-based
nursing model of care works.
“Our excellent Net Promoter Scores provide concrete
evidence that our team members are doing a fantastic job
of meeting the needs of our patients,” Ms Plumb said.
“The data also allows us to constantly find ways to improve
our services because we can drill down into the patient
comments for all hospitals on any topic – for example food,
services, even linens – to see what people responded
positively to and what they would like to see improved.”
Ramsay’s Net Promoter Score surveys are distributed by
a third party and the results are published quarterly on
hospitals’ websites.
Patients are contacted either by email or SMS once
they have returned home. The scores for each facility
are calculated based on customer responses to a single
question: “Based on your recent experience, how likely are
you to recommend us to your friends and family?”
Ms Plumb said: “We’re really proud of our hospital teams
and the innovative ways they’ve used their NPS feedback
to improve their services. Some sites display their
comments in staff rooms so those team members can read
about the positive feedback their patients have provided.”
“Many of the comments mention team members by name
– which means their treatment was so good that even up
to two weeks after they go home, they still remember how
amazing that person was.”
The NPS was first introduced in 2003 by the Harvard
Business Review and has since been widely adopted by
more than two thirds of ‘Fortune 1000’ companies and by
top organisations across the world.
Ramsay applies to
join Australia’s safest
performing self-insurance
scheme
Ramsay Health Care has submitted an application for
a self-insurance licence through Comcare, Australia’s
only national self-insurance scheme for workers’
compensation.
If successful, it means Ramsay employees could be moved into
Australia’s safest performing scheme (WHS performance) with
the most generous benefit structure for those who are injured.
The Comcare scheme provides all approved employers with
an integrated safety, rehabilitation and compensation system,
regardless of the region in which an employer operates.
Ramsay’s National Safety Team has been working on this
project for more than a decade; the application for licence was
some 2,000 pages.
Chief Risk Officer Chanelle McEnallay said if successful in its
application, Ramsay will be able to implement a nationally
consistent workers’ compensation strategy across our
Australian operations.
“This will ensure that employee compensation benefits will be
the same irrespective of where the injury occurred,”
Ms McEnallay said.
“Coverage in the Comcare scheme provides employees with
a package of benefits and entitlements which is equitable,
consistent and comparable with other Australian jurisdictions.”
“Our award-winning Injury Management System will also
ensure our early intervention models are maintained should
the move transpire.”
The National Safety Team has a dedicated Comcare Intranet
Page for Ramsay employees which can be found under the
Safety and Workers’ Compensation tab.
For other enquiries, please contact the team via
ComCareQuestions.RHC@ramsayhealth.com.au.
The Speak Up For Patient Safety (SUFPS) Program is
designed to empower staff to challenge potentially poor and
unsafe practices. It recognises we can all be wrong
– no matter how good we are – because we are all human.
Ramsay developed SUFPS – which is a Vanderbilt-based
scheme – in conjunction with the Cognitive Institute.
Chief Risk Officer, Chanelle McEnallay, said breaking down
the barriers of communication centres the conversation on
patient safety.
“This increases staff satisfaction because they are involved
and heard; therefore retention rates may be higher and a
SUFPS culture underpins the Ramsay Way and Ramsay’s
reputation for providing the safest possible care,”
Ms McEnallay said.
All hospitals which have implemented the framework have
undertaken “speaking up” graded assertiveness training
for all staff
who interact
with patients,
attended executive and organisational readiness workshops
with the Cognitive Institute and had peer messenger and
leader training undertaken by a specialist medical trainer.
Work has commenced on producing a case study paper on
the roll-out of the Vanderbilt program in Ramsay Australia
and the impact it has had on clinical outcomes.
Preliminary advice from the national clinical governance unit
has indicated a positive influence on the clinical outcomes
has been observed.
Ramsay Health Care is on track to fully complete
the Australian roll-out of its patient safety program
by the end of 2019.
Kathy Taylor, Chanelle McEnallay, Maree Sherwood (Comcare)
Gary McMullen (AON)
0
50
70
Negative
Good
Excellent
World Class
-100 100
Data from July – September 2019