AB226. Patient satisfaction with anaesthetic care in University Hospital Limerick

Background: Patient satisfaction with both the process and outcomes of anaesthetic care is an increasingly important focus for quality assurance.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study between 20/08/19 and 30/09/19. Patients undergoing elective surgical procedures in University Hospital Limerick were asked to participate in an anonymous questionnaire-based survey the day following surgery. Patients aged 18-year + with no current psychiatric diagnosis who had capacity to consent were invited to participate. Patients undergoing emergency surgery and day-case procedures were not approached. Ethical approval was granted before our study commenced.

Results: Fifty-five questionnaires were distributed to patients and nineteen completed questionnaires were received. The majority of respondents were female (16/19). The majority of patients considered themselves to be in good or excellent health (14/19), four patients identified their health as fair and one as poor. All respondents reported that the care they received was excellent and they understood the type of anaesthesia that would be used. Most patients were satisfied or very satisfied (17/19) with management of post-operative nausea and vomiting. One patient reported dissatisfaction with post-operative pain management, one patient was neither satisfied nor dissatisfied and the remainder of patients were either satisfied or very satisfied (17/19) with pain management.

Conclusions: Patients who underwent surgery in University Hospital Limerick report a high level of satisfaction with the care they received from the Anaesthesiology team. Low response levels to our survey and patient fears that negative responses could negatively impact their care may have affected our results.

Keywords: Satisfaction; anaesthesia; pain; nausea