This report reflects the experiences of care of more than 8,000 Aboriginal people who were admitted to a NSW public hospital from 2014 to 2019, and the experiences of almost 300 Aboriginal women who gave birth in a NSW public hospital in 2019. It draws on the results of the Adult Admitted Patient Survey and Maternity Care Survey.

Using new analyses, the report explores Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people’s experiences of care. For Aboriginal admitted patients, it examines differences in experiences at rural and urban hospitals, and trends over time.

 Key Findings:

• Aboriginal patients admitted to urban hospitals gave significantly less positive ratings of care than Aboriginal patients admitted to rural hospitals in a number of key areas.
• Across NSW, there was significant improvement in Aboriginal admitted patients’ ratings of nurses providing understandable answers to important questions. However, more Aboriginal patients admitted to hospital reported receiving contradictory information and not getting the ‘right amount’ of information about their condition and treatment than non-Aboriginal patients.
• For Aboriginal patients admitted to hospital, feeling that care is wellorganised is one of the strongest drivers of positive overall ratings of care. Being treated fairly, including on the basis of their Aboriginality, was also strongly associated with positive experiences of care for Aboriginal patients admitted to hospital.
• Aboriginal patients who rated their overall care less positively were more likely to mention the need for staff to be more available to listen, discuss issues and answer questions, and the need for greater empathy from health professionals.

Within the Australian and NSW healthcare systems, various funders and providers of services play critical roles in providing healthcare for Aboriginal people. Aboriginal populations face considerable health inequities. A better understanding of Aboriginal peoples’ experiences of healthcare is therefore critical to addressing these inequities.