Patients Satisfaction with Waiting Time and Attitude of Health Workers in the General Outpatient Department of a State Teaching Hospital, Enugu State, Nigeria

Background/Aim: Overall patients’ satisfaction with services provided in a hospital is an objective of care, and also a desired outcome. Dissatisfied patients are more likely not to comply with prescriptions, follow-up appointments, or further use the health facility. Services provided in public health facilities in Nigeria have been perceived by both patients and health care providers as being poor. Teaching hospitals in Nigeria are the apex referral centers, with the General Outpatient Department (GOPD) being the first unit that patients mostly go to first. Waiting time and attitude of health workers are key contributors to overall patients’ satisfaction. The objective of this study is to assess patients’ satisfaction with waiting time, and attitude of health workers in the GOPD of a Teaching hospital in Nigeria.

Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional study, conducted over three months in 2017 at the GOPD of Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. Structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire was used. Exit interview was conducted on randomly selected 13 patients as they were leaving the GOPD Pharmacy unit on Tuesdays and Thursdays of every week, until 313 respondents were interviewed.

Results: A total of 313 patients were interviewed, 131 (41.9%) males and 182 (58.1%) females. Analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0, and the results were expressed as percentages. Patients’ satisfaction score for the various items studied were found to be 53.7% for waiting time, 74.4% for attitude of Records staff, 78.3% for nurses, 71.9% for doctors, 70.6% for time spent with doctor, 72.5% with doctor's explanation and 40.6% with privacy.

Conclusions: Overall satisfaction with services rendered at the GOPD was 60.4%. Identifying and implementing interventions that will enhance patients satisfaction, shall improve health facility utilization.