Information in this report is from the Victorian Healthcare Experience Survey (VHES).

VHES asks patients about their recent experiences receiving care in the Victorian public health system. Health services use results from these surveys to improve patients’ experiences.

The survey results are weighted. Weighting is a data analysis method. It ensures the results represent everyone who received emergency care.

Ambulance survey

The ambulance survey was run for the first time in 2017–18. It is open for two months every year. In 2018–19, 5,474 people completed the survey.

People aged 16 years or over who called Triple Zero for help are asked to complete the survey. The survey is sent to people one month after they called Triple Zero. The survey is not sent to people who used planned ambulance transport.

The survey covers the three different services that are available for a patient after they call Triple Zero.

The three services are:

  • receiving help from a paramedic or nurse over the phone
  • an ambulance arrives but the patient is not taken to hospital
  • an ambulance arrives and the patient is taken to hospital.

The survey has 87 questions. The survey is paper-based and online, and is only available in English. VAHI is currently working to make the survey available in other languages.

If a person cannot complete the survey by themselves, a carer can complete it for them.

Emergency department survey

The emergency department survey is a well-established survey that has been sent to patients since 2014. Unlike the ambulance survey, this survey is sent all year round. In 2018–19, 10,020 participants completed the survey.

People aged 16 years or over who used a Victorian public emergency department in 2018–19 are asked to complete the survey. The survey is sent to patients one month after discharge from the emergency department. Patients who are admitted to stay in a ward after arriving in the emergency department are not asked to complete the survey.

The survey has 83 questions. People can complete a paper-based or online survey. The paper-based survey is available in 16 languages. The online survey is only available in English.

If a person cannot complete the survey by themselves, a carer can complete it for them.

 

Who completed the surveys?

Ambulance

In 2018–19, 5,474 adult patients completed the Victorian Healthcare Experience Survey (VHES) for ambulance care.

Icon featuring different genders
44% were women, 56% were men, 

<1% identified as another gender

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14% were under 50 years of age,

86% were 50 years of age or older

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92% mostly spoke English at home, 

8% mostly spoke another language at home

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1% were Aboriginal people,

99% were non-Aboriginal

 

Emergency department

In 2018–19, 10,020 adult patients completed the Victorian Healthcare Experience Survey (VHES) for emergency department care.

icons featuring different genders
56% were women, 41% were men, 

<3% identified as another gender

icons featuring different ages
35% were under 50 years of age,

65% were 50 years of age or older

icon featuring different languages
92% mostly spoke English at home, 

8% mostly spoke another language at home

icon featuring percentages
1% were Aboriginal people,

99% were non-Aboriginal