SA Health quietly stopped publishing surveys of public confidence in the health system when it became clear that confidence in the system was in decline.
According to SA Health, the purpose of the Health Confidence Monitor was to track perceptions of the health system reforms outlined in South Australia’s Health Care Plan 2007-2016.
Despite the nine-year reform timeline, the department stopped publishing confidence monitor reports after 2011.
The 2011 Confidence Monitor Report was the first to demonstrate a statistically significant trend of declining public confidence in the South Australian health system.
It reads: “Over time, the confidence level is showing a declining trend.”
“Also revealing a declining trend was confidence among residents from outside the greater Adelaide metropolitan area.
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“Also showing a declining trend in confidence were those with private health insurance cover.”
Adelaide-based company Harrison Research, commissioned to produce the 2011 report, asked 800 members of the public to rate their confidence in the overall health system out of ten.
The report from the previous year was also concerning – showing that public confidence in the system had fallen from a mean ranking of 5.9 out of 10 in 2009 to 5.3 out of 10 in 2010 – but it flagged the possibility that “this reduction in confidence is temporary and higher confidence will resume once the public has seen the key reforms implemented”.
SA Health told InDaily in a statement: “There is no legislative requirement for the Confidence Monitor report and there are currently no plans to commission another one.”
Confidence trend in decline
2007 confidence in the health system: 5.8 out of ten.
2008 confidence in the health system: 5.6 out of ten*.
2009 confidence in the health system: 5.9 out of ten.
2010 confidence in the health system: 5.3 out of ten.
2011 confidence in the health system: 5.3 out of ten.
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Between 2007 and 2011, public confidence in the South Australian health system declined in all three of the state’s health regions.
Those who were privately insured became 10 per cent less confident in the health system between 2007 and 2011, while the confidence of those who weren’t privately insured improved by one per cent.
The most frequent complaints from those surveyed in the reports related to long waiting times, a lack of access to specialist care in country areas and mental health service reform.
However, the news from the reports isn’t all bad.
Over half of those surveyed had no concerns or issues with health care in 2011 and the experience of patients in all of SA’s public hospitals improved between 2007 and 2011, except for Noarlunga Hospital.
The 2011 report notes declining satisfaction in Noarlunga Hospital has been “very gradual and fairly weak, so it is unlikely to be a reflection of falling standards.”
“However, it is worth monitoring future trends in patient satisfaction at the Noarlunga Hospital.”
It appears we’ll never know.
*Two surveys were taken in 2008. Both returned the same mean overall confidence result of 5.3/10.
Mean results for overall confidence in the health system had a mathematical confidence level of 95%. Sample sizes were 500 (2007), 889 (June 2008), 802 (October 2008), 806 (2009), 800 (2010), 800 (2011).
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