Patients at Katoomba hospital in the midst of COVID last year have rated their care just as highly as in 2019, before the pandemic.
And the work of doctors and nurses was appreciated more, according to a patient survey released on November 9.
The Bureau of Health Information survey of adult patients found that 93 per cent of those at Blue Mountains Anzac Memorial Hospital rated their overall care either very good or good in 2021, compared with 94 per cent in 2019.
Assessing the work of health professionals, 87 per cent said the nurses were very good, up from 78 per cent two years ago, and 74 per cent rated the doctors as very good, up from 70 per cent in 2019.
The results drew praise from Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District chief executive, Kay Hyman.
"Our staff work tirelessly to deliver the highest quality care to our patients and these results are a testament to their hard work," Mrs Hyman said.
"Last year was an extraordinary year in the face of COVID-19 with the Delta and Omicron waves in the second half of 2021 and I'm incredibly proud of how our staff adapted to the challenges it presented.
"The results show that despite the challenges we are putting the patient and their experiences first to deliver world-class health care."
In other results, 85 per cent of Katoomba hospital patients said they "definitely" had confidence and trust in the health professionals who treated them and 13 per cent said "yes, to some extent". Just two per cent said they did not have confidence.
And 93 per cent said the health professionals worked very well together as a team.
If asked about their experience, 84 per cent said they would speak highly of Katoomba hospital, 11 per cent said neither good nor bad and just five per cent would be critical.
A quarter of patients ranked the hospital food as very good with another 43 per cent saying it was good. But nine per cent said it was either poor or very poor.
At Nepean Hospital, 88 per cent of patients said their overall care was either very good or good (down slightly from 91 per cent in 2019).
Both doctors and nurses were rated very good by two-thirds of respondents.
Sixty-nine per cent of Nepean patients said they would "speak highly" of the hospital after their experience.
