Patient Satisfaction Survey
Oct. 7, 2004
Patient Satisfaction Survey gives BC Children’s Hospital ER high marks overall
When patients and their families were asked how they perceived the quality of care they received at the BC Children’s Hospital emergency department, they provided a very favourable 92 per cent overall quality satisfaction rate (good, very good or excellent). In fact, over 97 per cent of respondents would recommend the Children’s Emergency Department.
Children’s emergency was one of more than 100 emergency departments included in a province-wide patient satisfaction survey undertaken in 2003 to better understand how care provided is seen through the eyes of patients and families. Information collected will be used to identify opportunities for improvements from the patient’s perspective.
Children’s and other health institutions will use survey results to continue moving toward patient-centred health care. Client satisfaction is one of the most important indicators to measure progress from the patient’s perspective.
Standardized survey responses included:
Perceived Areas of Strength
Perceived Areas for Improvement
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Waited too long to see ED doctor/specialist
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Staff explained the reason for the length of waiting time in the ED
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No follow-up appointment made before discharge
Steps being taken to improve communication:
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Improvements to our patient discharge information form
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Providing computer-based patient information using video and text, plus the ability to link to useful child health sites
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A research agenda that includes:
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family and patient perception of procedural discomfort
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the ability of a patient family to understand discharge instructions
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telephone follow-up after certain procedures in the emergency department
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Improving how we notify family physicians about the care their patients received in the emergency department
“Surveys are just one of the tools we use in our quality initiatives,” said PHSA Director of Accreditation and Patient Satisfaction Kris Gustavson. “I’d like to see follow-up surveys to confirm that we are responding to what patients and their families are telling us, and continually improving the care patients receive in our emergency department.”
“What this survey tells us is that we need to do a better job of telling our patients about all the work that’s going on behind the scenes before they actually see a doctor,” said Emergency Department Medical Director Dr. Sandy Whitehouse. “We had already streamlined that process to ensure doctors have better information in hand when they first see our patients. My hope is that improved communication with patient families will be reflected in future patient satisfaction surveys.”
Summary results for the entire province will be available at http://www.news.gov.bc.ca/ after 3 p.m. today.