Patient satisfaction with an emergency department psychiatric service.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to measure the rate of satisfaction of the sample population with an emergency department psychiatric service and to explore in open-ended questions, factors which contributed to these satisfaction ratings.

Design/methodology/approach: All psychiatric patients who attended the service and fulfilled the eligibility criteria during the study timeframe received the postal questionnaire (n = 55). The Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8 was used, which is a brief, eight-item instrument designed to assess post-service satisfaction. It has good psychometric properties and has been validated for use in a psychiatric patient population.

Findings: It is found that 35 per cent of respondents scored a low level of satisfaction, 29 per cent a medium level and 36 per cent a high level of satisfaction. The qualitative data, completed by 73 per cent of respondents, provided a more in-depth view from the patient's perspective.

Research Limitations/implications: The response rate was low as predicted for this population.

Practical Implications: The qualitative findings reveal positive feedback regarding the staff, but patients expressed dissatisfaction about the availability of beds, waiting times for assessment, communication by staff, deficiency of crisis services in the home and inadequate provision of information regarding services. This study identifies factors which contribute to the low satisfaction ratings and identify ways to improve the service.

Originality/value: This mail patient survey provides valuable information for those planning and improving services for patients in the setting of the emergency department. The paper contributes to the limited number of studies of psychiatric services in this setting and identifies ways to improve patient satisfaction as supported by international evidence.