Patient satisfaction in an emergency dental clinic.

OBJECTIVES

Attendance at emergency clinics may be accompanied by extensive waiting times and frustration and may not result in patients obtaining the treatment which they expected. The objective of the study was to ascertain patient satisfaction with the overall provision of day time emergency services in a university dental teaching hospital, for quality assurance purposes.

METHODS

Patients (or persons accompanying child patients) attending the clinic, selected according to a sampling frame designed to identify approximately 10 per cent of attendees, completed a questionnaire.

RESULTS

High levels of patient satisfaction were found; 17 of 24 questions scoring satisfaction on a scale 1-5 had median scores of 5, six had median scores of 4 and one had a median score of 3. The lower scores related mostly to patient facilities rather than treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall patient satisfaction with their dental A & E experience has been extremely positive, probably attributable to a well motivated staff using a team approach.