Emergency Care Unit and Patient Satisfaction, During Covid-19 Pandemic: Durres Hospital Case

Abstract

The outbreak of covid-19 is having a significant impact on both the physical and social environment. Over 108.2 million people still uncounted (1). Among the sectors of a hospital, the emergency service is one of the most challenging in relation to the promotion of care quality. Achieve good levels of satisfaction of patients of these services is a difficult task (2) due to weaknesses caused by overcrowding, lack of hospital beds, lack of human resources and inadequate physical infrastructure to meet all demand (3). The difficult situation created, during the pandemic outbreak, focused the entire influx of patients, in the emergency service, which encountered the initial difficulties, of facing a completely unknown and unimaginable crisis, deepening the above problems. Patient satisfaction, as a perception and an attitude that a consumer can have or view towards a total experience of health care, is a multidimensional aspect, which represents a vital key marker for the quality of health care delivery (4). The purpose of this study is to assess patient’s satisfaction with the emergency service in the regional hospital of Durres, during Covid-19 pandemic period, as well as to identify the main problems that led to patient’s dissatisfaction with the quality of service. In a for month period, 200 patients who received services at this hospital while affected by covid-19, were interviewed. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from participants. The collected data were processed by SPSS statistical software. The main result of the analysis, showed that 62% of the respondents were satisfied with the service received, and that the degree of dissatisfactions on the rest of the patients was mainly related to the large number of patients hospitalized ate the same time, which created uncertainty among patients, about the service received and the fear to neglect. Preparing staff to deal with such critical situations is a must, as a good proportion of patients often perceived the insecurity of physicians and nurses in providing first aid. The overall opinions about the satisfaction level of patients for the availability and empathy of doctors in the hospital were good. As a conclusion we can say that there is a strong positive relationship between patients satisfaction and the promptness in the service as well as the necessary spaces for the treatment of patients.