ST JOHN NT
NEWSROOM

Territorians have indicated a high level of trust and confidence in the quality of care they are receiving from their ambulance service.

An annual Patient Experience Survey released today by the Council of Ambulance Authorities (CAA) shows that patient satisfaction rates among Territorians sits at 99% with most patients surveyed finding their experience dealing with St John NT to be positive overall – the highest proportion out of any other Australian ambulance service.

Director Ambulance Services, Andrew Thomas stated that the report’s overwhelmingly positive findings were testament of the commitment and dedication all staff at St John NT invested in the ambulance service.

“Sadly, we often only see people on their worst day,” Mr Thomas explained.

“Yet, despite this they can be confident and trust that throughout the process of calling for medical assistance to being transported to hospital, that they will receive the highest level of care and be kept informed regarding their treatment.”

NT respondents to the 2023 survey indicated:

• 93% found the assistance provided by the Emergency Medical Dispatcher (EMD) when they called Triple Zero (000) was helpful.
• 89% regarded the provision of care they received as “very good”, 8% regarded the provision of care as “good”.
• 93% trusted and were confident in the level of care provided by paramedics and Patient Transport Officers, 74% of respondents had a very high level of confidence, 19% rated it as “high”.
• 97% felt that the explanation they received from the paramedic they were treated by was clear, 77% found it a very clear and thorough explanation.

The Council of Ambulance Authorities (CAA) represents 11 statutory ambulance services across Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. The Patient Experience Survey has been conducted annually since 2002 in Australia.

The 2023 report shows that 97% of Australian respondents were satisfied with their most recent experience using their local ambulance service. 66% reported being connected to call takers more promptly than they had anticipated and 93% acknowledged the call taker’s helpfulness and reassurance during their interactions.

Those surveyed included patients transported by ambulance services for emergency and urgent categories. Patients or their carer were asked to rank their satisfaction with their local ambulance services and treatment received in a range of areas including overall satisfaction, call answering time and paramedic treatment.

The information provided from the survey allows ambulance services to better understand the recent experiences of treatment and care provided from the patient’s perspective and identify aspects of service delivery that could be improved.

“Our patients are our number one priority, these results demonstrate how our staff strive to provide the highest standard of care possible for all Territorians,” Mr Thomas said.

The full report is available on the St John NT here.