Survey says most happy with emergency

By Dan Hilborn
Published Oct. 13, 2004


A survey of patient satisfaction rates with the emergency departments at hospitals across B.C. will be used as a 'baseline study' to improve services in the future, officials with the Fraser Health Authority said last week.

"This helps us to think about where our biggest opportunities for improvement are, as well as where people thought our greatest strengths are," said Cathy Weir, director of quality improvement and risk management for the local health authority. "It gives us a guide to what opportunities we have and what we do well."

At Burnaby Hospital, the survey found that 78.3 per cent of emergency department patients rated the overall quality of care as positive. That number was slightly higher than the 77.7 per cent positive response rate for other community care hospitals in the Fraser Health Authority, but slightly below the 81.6 per cent positive response rate for other similar hospitals across the entire province.

However, the survey also found that Burnaby Hospital rated below the region-wide average in all six of the different 'dimensions' of health care measured in the survey when compared to other community care hospitals in the health authority.

The raw data from the survey was not provided to the media, and instead the health authority released one-page summaries of results for each of its hospitals.

A total of 280 Burnaby Hospital emergency department patients mailed back their survey response form, a response rate of 29.6 per cent from the patients sent the questionnaire during the three- month survey period.

Burnaby Hospital scored 67.8 per cent positive in respect for patients' preferences, 62.9 per cent in continuity and transition, 61.6 per cent in physical comfort, 61.4 per cent in access and coordination, 53.7 per cent in information and education and 56.5 per cent in emotional support.

In terms of strengths, Burnaby Hospital scored its highest marks when patients were asked if one doctor was in charge of their emergency department care (90.3 per cent positive) and in the amount of pain medicine received (85.7 per cent positive). Other strengths included a 79.7 per cent positive response to the statement "ED doctor did no talk as if patient wasn't there," and 77.9 per cent on explained how to take new medication.

The survey also measured the average time spent in the Burnaby Hospital emergency department, and found that more than 50 per cent of patients spent less than three hours total in the department. Specifically, the survey found 8.2 per cent of patients stayed less than one hour, 43.4 per cent stayed less than three hours, another 29.7 per cent stayed less than six hours, and 5.9 per cent stayed under 10 hours. The survey also found that 6.6 per cent of ED patients stayed in the department for more than 24 hours, another 3.9 per cent stayed from 12 to 24 hours, and 2.3 per cent stayed between 10 and 12 hours.

Overall, 47.6 per cent of the Burnaby Hospital emergency room patients surveyed would definitely recommend the department, 39.4 per cent would 'probably' recommend the department, while 13 per cent would not recommend the department.

Weir said the study will be repeated in two years and the results of the two surveys will be used to measure the level of improvement in services over time.

Weir said that she is satisfied that the survey results are accurate.

"This is the first time we've ever done this, so we're satisfied with the picture they've given us rather than the results," she said. "We are always committed to improvements. That's a commitment to be very focused on what the patients need and that their expectation for a high quality of care will be met at any of our sites. I don't think we'll ever be satisfied that we've completely met all those needs, but we certainly know where to focus our attentions."

The survey, which was part of a province-wide survey of hospital emergency departments in six health regions across B.C., was conducted by NRC+PickerGroup Canada between July 1 and Sept. 30, 2003.