Parent satisfaction with services in an emergency department located at a paediatric teaching hospital.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate parents' satisfaction with the services provided in an emergency department located at a paediatric hospital.

METHODOLOGY

A descriptive study in which the parents of children with non-life-threatening illnesses attending an emergency department completed a questionnaire describing their satisfaction with services in the department.

RESULTS

The majority of parents were satisfied with the services provided. However, less satisfied parents reported having to wait significantly longer before receiving medical attention than satisfied parents. Consistent with this finding, 77% of less satisfied parents reported that staff did not attend to their children's needs quickly enough and 62% felt that there were insufficient staff available to provide help. Twenty-nine per cent of the less satisfied parents reported that they did not know what was required for the ongoing care of their children after their discharge from the emergency department.

CONCLUSIONS

In order to address the concerns of less satisfied parents, emergency departments need to give careful attention to the maintenance of reasonable waiting times, the provision of adequate staffing, and the quality of staff-parent communication. Addressing these issues may improve the ongoing care of children after their discharge from emergency departments.