Patients in the Region of Murcia ask to improve waiting times, infrastructure and food in hospitals

There is a wide margin for improvement that focuses on the waiting times that patients assume, the infrastructures and the restoration that is offered in the health centers. This is one of the main conclusions drawn from the Care Quality Survey carried out by the Ministry of Health during the first half of this year on almost 12,000 patients in the Region of Murcia, and which leaves “excellent results thanks to the effort made by all the professionals”, assured this Wednesday at a press conference the manager of the Murcian Health Service (SMS), Francisco Ponce.

These parameters related to waiting times, infrastructure and restoration are the ones that obtain the lowest evaluations by patients in relation to other areas. All in all, 78 out of every 100 users rate comfort conditions in waiting rooms, noise, temperature and lighting as “good or very good”. And the global satisfaction with the waiting time from the time of the appointment until the patient enters the Primary Care consultation reaches 7.8.

Users feel more satisfied with the quality of care and the treatment received by health professionals. According to the survey data, more than 95% of the users of the regional health system as a whole are satisfied with the treatment and professionalism of doctors and nurses, despite a pandemic context. In global terms, the first semester reproduces the degree of satisfaction that was recorded throughout 2021, with an average of 8.55 during these first six months of the year compared to 8.6 for the entire previous year.

Likewise, more than 93% of Primary Care users continue to qualify as “good or very good” and the treatment and professionalism of doctors (93.7) and nurses (95.8), while in Hospital Care these percentages rise and the treatment received by the medical staff, with 96.4, and the nursing staff, with 95.4, is valued as “very good”. In this regard, 93.5% of patients would choose the same health center again and more than 96.2% the same hospital.

Despite the pandemic, the average satisfaction figures have remained at values ​​above 8.5 both in 2020 and 2021 and in the current one. Specifically, they give an 8.3 to Primary Care and an 8.7 to hospitalization.

By levels of care, obstetric services achieved an average score of 8.7, while hospital emergencies and outpatient consultations obtained 8.3 and pediatric hospitalization 9.1. On the other hand, the surgical patient has evaluated the services with an 8.8.

The study allows knowing the quality perceived by users in different aspects of care and their degree of satisfaction. “The objective is to detect the best practices of the centers to extend them to the rest and identify opportunities for improvement in order to be able to undertake corrective measures.”

Satisfaction in pediatric hospitalization is 9.1 points, which exceeds the 2021 assessment. Likewise, more than 97% consider the treatment of doctors and nurses “good or very good” and 97.4% recognize their treatment in the same way. professionalism. Regarding satisfaction with the treatment of professionals who attend births (midwives, gynecologists and paediatricians) it exceeds 91%, and professionalism 95.8%.

External consultations obtain a satisfaction of 8.3 points out of 10. 94% of those surveyed would return to the same consultation if they had to do it and could choose.

The degree of satisfaction is maintained with respect to hospital emergencies, which again obtain a score of 8.3. Close to 93% rate the treatment received from the medical staff as “good or very good”, and 91.8% applaud their professionalism. Regarding the Primary Care emergency services, 94.7% of the patients have assessed the treatment of the health personnel as “good or very good”.

The assessment of Mental Health services, incorporated into the study since 2021, obtains an overall rating of 8.7. 94.1% of those surveyed rate the professionalism of the staff who attended them as “good or very good”. Likewise, more than 94% of those surveyed rate the time spent on the last consultation by the professionals who assisted them “well or very well”.

The SMS incorporated perceived quality in 2003 as a strategic line of management and evaluation of healthcare centers and, to date, the opinion of more than 155,000 users has been collected.