Proposed Topic (Most preferred): :
Clinical Safety and Quality Service III (Projects aiming at quality service to patients and their carers)
Proposed Topic (Second preferred): :
Enhancing Partnership with Patients and Community (Projects initiated to engage patients / carers / community to improve efficiency / quality of care)
Authors (including presenting author) :
Ho HHT(1), Chan WC(1) , IP WM(1), Lau M(1)
Affiliation :
(1) Occupational Therapy Department, Shatin Hospital
Introduction :
In the pursuit of providing high-quality Occupational Therapy (OT) services, patient and carer satisfaction plays a pivotal role. It impacts treatment adherence, participation, and overall healthcare outcomes. To assess service quality and identify areas for improvement, an online satisfaction survey was developed. Its goal is to enhance the patient and carer experience, leading to better outcomes and progress in rehabilitation.
Objectives :
(1) To obtain patient and carer feedback on OT services
(2) To identify strengths, weakness and areas for improvement
Methodology :
An online patient and carer satisfaction survey was developed and sent to patients/carers via messages after their discharged from Shatin Hospital. The survey consisted of 7 questions, covering areas such as satisfaction with OT treatment goals and plans, therapist's attitude, department environment, and equipment. Participants were asked to rate their responses on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree."
Monthly updates of the survey results were regularly disseminated during department meetings to enhance staff engagement and promote their understanding of patients' feedback.
Result & Outcome :
A total of 148 replies were received from May to October 2023. Over 90% of patients/carers agreed that therapists had thoroughly explained the treatment goals and plans. The majority of patients/carers (>96%) expressed satisfaction with OT training and therapist's working attitude. Regarding the OT department's environment and equipment, over 75% of patients/carers reported satisfaction. Overall, OT services were rated as satisfactory by more than 96% of patients/carers.
Clear and thorough explanation of treatment goals and plans establishes patients' and carers' expectations of the service. In response to 90% satisfaction in treatment goals and plan, our department has been working on standardization of electronic initial assessment and developing treatment protocol to facilitate therapists in delivering high-quality OT services. The Patient Monitoring and Scheduling System will record the training activities for analyzing the effectiveness of treatment protocol in the future.
Some suggestions for improvement were provided by patient and carers, including the enlargement of the training space, an increase in manpower, and allocating more time for cognitive training.
In response, our department has been reforming the training workshops to optimize workshop space for clinical use and modernize training equipment with a variety of robotic devices.
The satisfaction survey will continue to uphold high-quality OT services.
In conclusion, this satisfaction survey has promoted continuous improvement in our service. It is expected to be a routine practice for service enhancement.
