Northern Beaches Hospital: ‘Patients’ test out rooms, beds and food
SYDNEY’S newest hospital admitted its first set of ‘patients’ this week to road test the facilities and try out the beds and the food. Manly Daily reporter Julie Cross was one of the volunteers.
Manly
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A DOZEN ‘patients’ were invited to stay overnight to road test the facilities at the new $600 million Northern Beaches Hospital this week.
The volunteers, who included regular hospital goers, were asked to assess the carpark, signage, rooms, facilities, food and comfort during their stay to help smooth out any issues before the hospital’s opening on October 30.
I wasone of the fake patients and, like all the volunteers, stayed in a private room. The rooms were all spacious, single rooms with ensuites and some had an ocean view.
Around 60 per cent of the 488 beds are public beds and the majority of those are also single rooms with ensuites.
The remainder have two beds in a room with an ensuite, rather than the four-, six- or eight-bed wards found in many public hospitals. Only the Emergency Department and surgery recovery ward have long rows of beds.
Colin Furphy, 34, of Freshwater, was one volunteer keen to test the facilities and considers himself a bit of an expert on hospital stays.
At one point during his 20s he was going to hospital three times a week because of epilepsy and he has seen the inside of numerous public and private hospitals in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Victoria as well as NSW.
“This room is awesome in comparison to other hospitals,” Mr Furphy said.
“You can move freely around without bumping into anything. It all feels very clean and welcoming.”
He said the food was really good and that, in the past, he had discarded his meals and ordered takeaway.
However, he had a few complaints about the poor TV sound, as the speaker is in the remote control. Plus, the only way to turn it off is at the TV set. He also could not connect to the Wi-Fi and the room thermometer shone a bright light during the night. He also thought the temperature in the room was out.
Another ‘patient’, Gayle Hall-Johnston, 71, of Newport, said it took her 22 minutes to get to the hospital in rush hour, which she was pleased with.
She said the accommodation was like a five-star hotel, although she had to turn the TV off because the sound was poor and echoed.
She said she had put her name down to volunteer at the hospital in a bid to beat her fear of them.
“It’s about time I got over my fear,” she said.
Another ‘patient’ said her husband had just returned home after a week at Manly Hospital, where the cold wind came through the windows and he was in a ward where there was little privacy. She said that, in comparison, her room was luxurious.
The food was always going to be a big talking point with the testers and everyone appeared happy with what they had, either rogan josh curry or goat’s cheese tartlet, all cooked from fresh.
Catering manager Phil Chantler, who was previously executive chef at Manly Pacific, said the 60-strong catering staff would be preparing up to 2000 meals a day. He said dinners would be the same for public and private patients, but presented differently.
He said breakfast would be a hot meal for private patients and a continental meal for public patients.
Journalist Julie Cross rates her overnight stay at the Northern Beaches Hospital:
• Private room: Spacious with some nice touches, including shower products. Ocean views. 5/5
• Public room: Smaller but still roomy, different chairs and lighting and smaller TV. 4.5/5
• Bed: Mattress and pillows were soft and comfy but extra blanket needed. 4/5
• Bathroom: Like a four- star hotel. Good shower but needed a bath mat. 4.5/5
•TV: An LG, good size in private room but remote control was clunky to use and doubles as a speaker. The sound was atrocious. Tip, bring earphones. 2/5
• Food: Public patients get the same dinner but presented differently. Some men were still hungry after the vegie option. Overall: 4/5