St Vincent’s – which operates 10 private hospitals in NSW (three), Victoria (four), and Queensland (three), in both metro and regional areas – was ranked first by Medibank’s overnight patient customers in all 10 of the categories surveyed.

St Vincent’s also finished first place for its Net Promoter Score (NPS). The NPS is an internationally recognised measure of patient satisfaction in a healthcare environment.

The categories where St Vincent’s private hospitals were ranked first were: nurse communication, doctor communication, staff response, pain management, medicine-related communication, discharge information, care transition, cleanliness, quietness, and if the patient would recommend the hospital to others. 

Medibank’s members were surveyed for their experiences among 12 private hospital groups, including private patients in public hospitals across Australia. 

When it came to the rankings of individual St Vincent’s private hospitals, St Vincent’s Northside, Toowoomba, East Melbourne, and Fitzroy all scored higher than their competitors and peer hospitals across all areas. 

St Vincent’s Northside and the Mater Sydney scored 10 points higher than their peer hospitals for medicine-related communication.

In a similar survey, Bupa members also rated St Vincent’s private hospitals highly, with 97% of the health fund’s members rating their experience as either very good (89%) or good (5%). 

St Vincent’s Private Hospitals CEO, Richard Ryan, said the results were a credit to staff and their commitment to patients. 

“These terrific results are owned by the clinicians, nurses, allied health, support staff, and administrators in every one of our 10 private hospitals,” said Richard. 

“Being ranked first for one year would be really satisfying. To achieve it two, three or even four years in a row would be just incredible. But to be ranked ‘number one’ five years in a row? It really speaks volumes about our entire team’s commitment to consistency, quality, and improvement.

“The fact that we were ranked number one across every category surveyed is a credit to our people. 

“Ask any high performing organisation and they will tell you that it’s hard to maintain consistently high standards year in and year out. This is all about achieving a sustained performance. It reflects the commitment we have to our patients’ wellbeing over time.

“Undoubtedly this ranking comes down to the efforts of our people. But I think it also reflects what we often hear from our patients: ‘There’s something different and special about St Vincent’s’. And I think that’s got a lot to do with the fact we’re a purpose-driven organisation with more than 165 years of history.

"Amid the ongoing pressures facing the Australian private health sector, this result reflects our efforts to embed resilience and excellence in everything we do.

"St Vincent’s is incredibly proud to set the benchmark in private healthcare for our competitors to follow. We are committed to continually lifting the standard for those who trust us with their care," said Richard.