DoH releases National Patient Choice Survey statistics

The number of patients who were treated at the hospital they wanted to attend rose one per cent from July to September, according to the National Patient Survey.

Conducted by the Department of Health (DoH), the study revealed more than two-thirds of people (67 per cent) went to their first choice location, compared to 66 per cent in July.

The survey noted 89 per cent of patients were offered the opportunity to choose which hospital to be treated in, while more than three-quarters (77 per cent) said they were satisfied with their wait between referral and admission.

Other data indicated 74 per cent of patients regarded hospital cleanliness and low infection rates as the main reason behind their choice.

Last month, it was revealed the number of people who waited more than six weeks for one of the 15 key diagnostic tests was 4,800 at the end of November last year – a fall of 20.9 per cent from the previous month.