Patient satisfaction with psychiatric outpatient care in a university hospital setting.

Objectives: To measure patient satisfaction with psychiatric outpatient care in a university hospital setting. We wished to ascertain whether there was an association between increased patient satisfaction and background factors such as demographic details, diagnosis and patient preference for outpatient treatment in a hospital or a community setting.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of individuals' satisfaction levels with their outpatient treatment. Outpatients were invited to complete the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8 (CSQ-8), a well validated self-report instrument, along with some additional questions on their attitudes to the service.

Results: One hundred and sixty-two respondents had a mean total CSQ-8 score of 26.7 (s.d. = 4.6) indicating a moderate to high level of satisfaction with outpatient care. Ninety percent of patients were satisfied with their psychiatric outpatient care. There were no significant sociodemographic or clinical associations with satisfaction levels identified. Sixty one percent of patients were in favour of retaining outpatient care in the university hospital.

Conclusions: This study demonstrates high satisfaction levels with psychiatric outpatient care in a university hospital setting. The majority of patients expressed a preference for maintaining outpatient care in the general hospital setting, rather than transferring to a stand-alone mental health facility in a suburban setting.