Patient satisfaction from the services provided by the outpatient clinics in the public hospitals of Cyprus

Abstract

OBJECTIVE :Measurement of the level of patient satisfaction with the services provided by the outpatient clinics in four Cyprus public hospitals. METHOD Completion of a structured questionnaire with 58 questions using the interview method and collected in ballots. The study sample comprised 761 patients selected as they were exiting the waiting rooms of the outpatient departments of each hospital, using a systematic random sampling method. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. RESULTS Of the users of the outpatient services 61.8% were satisfied with the services they had received. The level of satisfaction was higher the greater the age (p<0.01) and the better the reported health status of the respondant (p<0.001). Important parameters for satisfaction according to the majority of patients were courtesy and professionalism of the outpatient clinic staff and cleanliness of the premises. The questionnaire item with the highest positive evaluation concerned the respect of the physician for the patient, with a mean value of 4.27 on a scale of 1-5, with 5 representing the highest level of satisfaction. However, components of the outpatient services perceived as problematic were responsiveness and accessibility. The lowest mean value, 2.59, was recorded for difficulty in finding a parking place and for the long waiting time between the request for an appointment and the actual visit. Apart from the dissatisfaction with the long waiting time, it was found that waiting time was associated with overall satisfaction with the services provided (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS The overall user evaluation of the outpatient services of the four Cyprus hospitals was quite good, although there appear to be problems for which corrective measures need to be taken in order to provide patients with high quality services.