Patients' satisfaction with their hospital stay at the Department of Psychiatry, Amager Hospital, in 2000 and 2003

• Published in: Ugeskrift for læger Vol. 168; no. 13; p. 1323
• Main Authors: Hansen, Bjarne, Sørensen, Holger Jelling, Aggernaes, Karin Helle
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Danish
• Published: Denmark 27-03-2006
• Subjects: Denmark; Hospital Design and Construction; Humans; Mental Disorders - nursing; Mental Disorders - psychology; Mental Disorders - therapy; Patient Care Planning; Patient Education as Topic; Patient Satisfaction; Professional-Patient Relations; Psychiatric Department, Hospital; Surveys and Questionnaires; Denmark
• ISSN: 1603-6824

Our goal was to compare patients' satisfaction with their hospital stay at the Department of Psychiatry, Copenhagen University Hospital, Amager, before and after the department was moved to newly built facilities.
In 2000 and again in 2003, patients who were about to be discharged from the department were asked to anonymously fill in a 24-item questionnaire related to their satisfaction with their recent hospital stay.
The percentage of participants was 39% of discharged patients in 2000 and 33% in 2003. A high percentage rated their general satisfaction with the hospital stay as either "good" or "very good" (94% in 2000 and 88% in 2003). From 2000 to 2003, we noted a significant (23%) increase in the percentage who rated their satisfaction with the buildings as either "good" or "very good". In other areas, there was reduced patient satisfaction. We noted a reduction with respect to the respondents' satisfaction with the hospital staff on specific matters; for instance, a significant (23%) reduction in the respondents' perception of the hospital staff having spent sufficient time with them.
After the department was moved to newly built facilities, patients' satisfaction with the buildings appears to have increased. In other areas, such as satisfaction with the hospital staff on specific matters, patient satisfaction appears to have decreased. The results should be interpreted with caution due to the low participation rate.