Provincial Patient Satisfaction Survey gives BC Children's Hospital high marks overall
Last winter, when patients and their families were asked how they perceived the quality of care they received at the BC Children’s Hospital Emergency Department (ED), they gave the BC Children’s team high marks – nearly 84% of respondents rated the overall quality of care as excellent, very good or good. In fact, 94% said they would recommend the ED to family and friends.
BC Children’s ED, the only PHSA emergency department was one of more than 100 emergency departments included in a province-wide patient satisfaction survey undertaken between February and April 2007. This survey was a follow-up to one conducted in the summer of 2003. At that time, respondents gave the ED a 92% satisfaction rating.
The more modest satisfaction rates were at least partially attributable to the fact that the respective surveys were conducted at different times of year. The 2003 version was conducted in the summer and the 2007 survey was conducted during the winter cold and flu season. The ED at BC Children’s typically experiences its highest patient volumes between October and April.
As well, the number of visits to the BC Children’s ED increased by 27% between 2003 and 2007 and the acuity of cases increased by about 17%. Another factor that had some influence on the 2007 results was that youth (ages 12 to 19 years) were included in the survey population for the first time, albeit the youth group was a small sample size.
Going forward, the BC Children’s ED is moving to a continuous survey model to allow them to identify and act on patient concerns in an even more timely manner.
The full report, Patient Experiences with Emergency Departments in B.C., and related information is available at www.health.gov.bc.ca/socsec/surveys.html. Results for other health authorities are posted to their respective web sites.