An Audit of Patients' Perception of Urology Outpatient Services in a Nigerian University Teaching Hospital

Audit of Urology outpatient clinic

Abstract

Background: There is increasing recognition that patients' perceptions and experience of healthcare service delivery by medical personnel are important indicators of satisfaction from the care received, subsequent attendance at follow-up visits, and referrals of friends and family. The goals of this study were to determine the reasons for patients' attendance at our outpatient urology clinic, and satisfaction level to ultimately help develop measures to improve the service. Methodology: This study was done in the outpatient urology clinic of a teaching hospital. A cross-sectional descriptive study involving all patients attending the urology outpatient clinic. The patients completed pre-tested questionnaires following consultation with a urology consultant or senior registrar. The data obtained was analysed using the international business machines, statistical package for social sciences (IBM-SPSS) version 25. Results: There were 142 patients who completed the questionnaires; of which 45.2% were follow-up visits, 25.2% for change of catheter, 14.3% for first clinic appointments, 4.8% for hormonal injections for cancer, 4.8% for wound dressing, and 2.4% for other unspecified reasons. The clinic schedule was convenient for 90.9%. There was a perception of a long delay before seeing the doctor by 61.8%. However, 97% felt the reception team was friendly. All the patients (100%) reported that the consultation process with the doctors and nurses met their expectations. About 94.1% were likely to return for follow-up visits while 93.9% were likely to refer a friend or family member to the clinic. Conclusion: The patients attended the urology clinic for a variety of reasons, the commonest being for a change of catheter. All the patients reported a satisfactory level of experience, though a significant majority reported delays. However, only a few were unlikely to attend follow-up visits or not refer a friend or family member.