In-Patient Satisfaction in Belfast City Hospital 2000

4 Summary of Results

Out-patient appointments

• 45% of respondents received notification of the dates of their appointments with the consultants less than one month after being referred by their GP. However, forty-nine per cent of patients waited at least one month for notification of the dates of their out-patient appointments. In addition, 17% of patients waited longer than three months for their out-patient appointments.
• Eighty-two per cent of respondents said the length of time they had to wait for out-patient appointments was very satisfactory or satisfactory.
• Seventy-five per cent of respondents were seen in the out-patient department at their specified appointment times.
• Twelve respondents (36%) were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the length of time they waited in the out-patient department before being seen by the consultants.
• Of those kept waiting over 30 minutes for their appointments, 88% had been given explanations for the delays.
• 78% of respondents stated that they were seen by consultants at their out-patient appointments. Pre-hospital stay
• Over half of the patients (51%) were given up to one week's notice of the dates of their operations.
• The majority of respondents (96%) were satisfied or very satisfied with the notice which they received of their operations.
• Fifty-six patients contacted Belfast City Hospital about appointments prior to receiving the dates for their operations and 73% of these respondents spoke to the consultants' secretaries.
• Ninety-five per cent of these respondents said that the staff whom they spoke to at the Belfast City Hospital were very helpful or helpful. Pre-operation
• Ninety-two per cent of respondents felt they had been given enough information to prepare them for their in-patient stays.
• Ninety-six per cent of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with the information which they had received prior to their operations. Meals in hospital
• Nearly all the respondents (90%) were given a choice of menu. However, only 58% (82) of the patients stated that they always got the food they requested.
• The majority of the respondents said the quantity of food provided at each meal was sufficient and 89% of respondents said the food which they had received was served at the right temperature.
• 79% of respondents stated that the quality of the food provided was good or very good.
• The majority of respondents who were on special diets always received their required diets.
• However, over a quarter of the patients were not always offered drinks with their meals.
• In addition, fifteen respondents made negative comments about the food, relating to inadequate quantities provided, a lack of choice and food served at inappropriate temperatures. Nursing care
• Ninety per cent of the respondents were told the names of the nurses in charge of their care.
• 97% of respondents rated the overall standard of nursing care provided as good or very good.
• The majority of the respondents felt the nurses spent enough time with the patients: when carrying out nursing tasks, teaching them about their conditions or talking to them generally.
• Eighty-eight per cent of respondents said the nurses gave them as much information as they would have liked about their progress.
• Only thirty-eight per cent of the patients knew if care plans had been devised for them during their stay in hospital. Of these respondents, less than half had been involved in contributing to the care plans. Medical care
• Ninety-five per cent of the respondents were told the names of their consultants. However, 15% of general surgery patients (5) had not been told the names of their consultants.
• The majority of the patients (95%) said they had been seen by their doctors sufficiently often. " 99% per cent of the respondents said the doctors were friendly or very friendly.
• The majority of respondents (76%) said the doctors always took the time to answer any questions they had.
• Eighty-nine per cent of the respondents said the doctors gave them as much information as they would have liked about their conditions.
• 84% of the patients stated that the doctors always explained what they were going to do before they carried out any procedures.
• The privacy which was available to the patients during the ward rounds was rated lower than that available during the discussions with, or examinations by, the medical staff. Care provided by other professionals
• Where other professionals were involved in patient care, the majority of the respondents were satisfied with the care they provided. General comments
• Comments which were made about the satisfactory aspects of hospital stays included comments relating to positive staff attitudes and the provision of information.
• However, areas of dissatisfaction with communication were: lack of information prior to and following surgery and follow-up discharge communication with the GPs.
• In addition, other areas of dissatisfaction were: postponement of admission dates due to lack of beds; the noisy hospital environment; the timing of meals; a lack of clean bed linen and ward facilities and a lack of discharge planning. Awareness of the Charter for Patients and Clients
• There was a low level of awareness among the patients generally about the Charter and its specified standards.