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Last Updated: Jul 2nd, 2008 - 20:21:03
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Patients in Alberta are generally happy with their experiences in the emergency room but — perhaps not surprising — their level of satisfaction dwindles at waiting times increase.
That’s according to a recent survey of patients done by the Health Quality Council of Alberta. The survey also found what mattered most to patients and what most influenced their overall experience ranking was the communication they received from doctors and nurses.
Diane Shanks, program director of emergency and critical care at Chinook Health, wasn’t shocked by these findings.
“I think from the emergency care perspective, we’re aware of a lot of challenges facing our department related to system problems,” said Shanks, explaining she wishes the survey had taken a broader look at the entire system, to provide a more complete picture.
“If the system isn’t working well, problems manifest themselves in the emergency department,” she said.
“It’s a concern for our staff as well. Nobody likes to have people wait for care.”
The study found 90 per cent of rural patients and 84 per cent of urban patients ranked their overall experience as excellent, very good, or good. But when it came to communication, figures weren’t always as positive: 36 per cent of respondents said their condition had not been explained to them in an understandable way or was only to some extent, and 40 per cent said they were completely informed of about what danger signals to watch for after they went home.
“I think we’ve gotten some good feedback on how patients in our region feel about their service,” said Shanks, adding Chinook Health may conduct its own patient surveys in the future.
“We’ll look through some of these with our staff and work to improve.”
Patients in smaller emergency departments were typically more satisfied with their experience than those in larger centres. The Crowsnest Pass Health Centre and Pincher Creek Health Centre ranked consistently higher than the Chinook Regional Hospital in many categories. But Shanks said this makes sense, as there are generally bigger challenges and longer wait times in larger centres with higher populations, which, as the survey showed, lead to decreased satisfaction.
“We’re not looking at this as a way to compare ourselves with others; we’re looking at it to find ways we can improve our service.”
© Copyright by Lethbridge Herald.com
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