Evaluation of patients’ attitudes to their care during oral and maxillofacial surgical outpatient consultations: the importance of waiting times and quality of interaction between patient and doctor

Knowing what patients think about their care is fundamental to the provision of an effective, quality service, and it can help to direct change and reduce costs. Much of the work in oral and maxillofacial departments concerns the treatment of outpatients, but as little is known about what they think about their care, we aimed to find out which aspects were associated with satisfaction. Consecutive patients (n = 244) who attended the oral and maxillofacial outpatient department at Southampton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust over a 7-day period were given a questionnaire to complete before and after their consultation. It included questions with Likert scale responses on environmental, procedural, and interactive aspects of the visit, and a 16-point scale to rank their priorities. A total of 187 patients (77%) completed the questionnaires. No association was found between expected (p=0.93) or actual (p=0.41) waiting times, and 90% of patients were satisfied with their visit. Seeing the doctor, having confidence in the treatment plan, being listened to, and the ability of the doctor to recognise their personal needs, were ranked as important. Environmental and procedural aspects were considered the least important. These findings may be of value in the development of services to improve patient-centred care.