A new national poll shows Islanders have the highest satisfaction rates with the health care they receive at walk-in clinics and hospitals, Health and Wellness Minister Doug Currie says.

“This is really encouraging feedback. Our dedicated front line health care staff work hard to provide quality patient care. This poll shows us our strengths. For a small jurisdiction with limited fiscal capacity, we are providing quality health care. This is a testament to our innovation and dedicated staff,” Currie said.

Thirty-one per cent of Islanders polled said they were “very satisfied” with the care they received in Island hospitals, the highest satisfaction rate in the country. The national average was 22 per cent satisfaction. Prince Edward Island was followed by Ontario and Saskatchewan with 26 per cent each. Newfoundland was last at 8 per cent.

The National Forum Research May 30-31 telephone survey of 3,932 residents aged 18 or older across the country also revealed Islanders’ satisfaction with walk-in clinics was the country’s highest at 28 per cent, followed by Nova Scotia and New Brunswick at 24 per cent. Overall, walk-in clinics scored the lowest satisfaction across the country.

Islanders had the country’s highest satisfaction with dentistry.

Health PEI’s Executive Director of Community Hospitals was pleased to hear Islanders realize the quality of the care they are getting in hospitals and walk-in clinics.

“Although visiting your family physician or primary care provider is best for continuity of care, walk-ins provide an important role in the continuum of services for Islanders without a family physician. They also help redirect visits to the emergency department, leaving those services for Islanders in greatest need of emergency care,” said Deborah Bradley.

“Our patients deserve our very best and we constantly strive to improve the quality of care, delivering safe care – care that we ourselves want for our loved ones,” said Rick Adams, Executive Director for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

“Continuous improvement demands that we spend time evaluating all areas of patient care including patient satisfaction. We are pleased that, on average, 96 per cent of the patients we care for at the QEH are satisfied, or very satisfied, with the care we provide.”

Prince Edward Island’s numbers were impressive, said Lorne Bozinoff, President of Forum Research, which conducted the poll.

“I think these numbers reflect hard work on the hospital front – to be Number 1 in the country, there isn’t any province near that.”

Prince Edward Island was also above average – tied with Ontario – on Emergency Department satisfaction at 17 per cent satisfaction. The national average was 14 per cent.

PEI scored low in satisfaction with family doctors at 29 per cent compared to Saskatchewan at 40 per cent.

More than 95 per cent of Islanders have a family doctor, exceeding the 85 per cent recommended average by the National College of Family Physicians and Surgeons. Parts of Ontario and Quebec are at 50 per cent.

“Polls like this are important because they show where we’re knocking it out of the park and where we need to continue to focus our attention. We’ve been working hard and have made great strides in physician recruitment and retention,” Currie said. “Overall, I am very pleased that we’re leading the country in patient satisfaction in these key areas.”

To view the poll results go to Health care satisfaction poll.
 

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