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Hospital Staff Response Top Concern

Posted on: Wednesday, 4 October 2006, 18:00 CDT

Hospital staff responsiveness -- identified as a top concern among patients -- is generally good, a U.S. poll says, but could be better.

A new poll of more than 2.2 million patients queried on recent hospital stays by the healthcare research firm Press Ganey showed that patients' satisfaction with their stays is most influenced by the hospital staff's ability to respond to their concerns and complaints.

The poll showed that just over 50 percent of patients gave the hospital staff's response to their concerns or complaints the highest possible score of very good, with almost 60 percent rating the amount of attention paid to their special or personal needs as very good.

Hospitals that have significantly improved their patient satisfaction levels are focusing on these areas of responsiveness and communication, said Melvin Hall, president and chief executive officer of Press Ganey. By focusing on the personal needs of patients, in addition to the clinical care, hospitals demonstrate their willingness, ability and passion for really listening to what patients have to say -- and that pays huge dividends in terms of patient satisfaction and loyalty.

Also making the list of the top five patients' concerns revealed by the survey were:

-- Staff sensitivity to the inconvenience (that) health problems and hospitalization can cause (50 percent said very good).

-- Staff effort to include the patient in decisions about their treatment (51 percent rated their hospital very good).

-- How well the nurses kept them informed (57 percent responded very good).

The highest percentage of patients in the survey gave the top very good ranking to friendliness and courtesy of the nurses (70 percent) and skill of the nurses (66 percent).

Source: United Press International

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