6 Common Complaints from Patients About a Hospital
Patients head to a hospital seeking relief from their ailments but unfortunately for some, their hospital experience turns out to be traumatic. Patients come back whining and complaining about their hospital woes and dread going to the same hospital again.
Professional Hospitals must lend a patient ear to these grievances and issues raised by patients. They should incorporate a patient feedback mechanism in their hospital management to learn these complaints. If these issues are ignored, the very reputation of the hospital will be at stake and so will its profitability.
This is why it is best for hospitals to engage the hospital management services of a professional and experienced healthcare consulting firm. This will definitely improve the patient experience and resolve all the patient's grievances against the hospital.
Professional Hospitals must lend a patient ear to these grievances and issues raised by patients. They should incorporate a patient feedback mechanism in their hospital management to learn these complaints. If these issues are ignored, the very reputation of the hospital will be at stake and so will its profitability.
This is why it is best for hospitals to engage the hospital management services of a professional and experienced healthcare consulting firm. This will definitely improve the patient experience and resolve all the patient's grievances against the hospital.
Common issues faced by a patient at a hospital
1. Lack of sensitivity to patient's needs
This is the most gigantic problem that looms at every hospital. Patients feel that the hospital's care providers namely the physicians, nurses and attendants, are not sensitive to the patient's needs.
When this complaint is voiced, the patient refers to the
When this complaint is voiced, the patient refers to the
- Sleep deprivation he/she faces due to
- Doctors or nurses disturbing them at night to do tests or draw blood samples. This clearly shows a lack of concern for the patient's health and sleep requirement.
- Noisy nurse stations where there is a huge din disturbing their sleep.
- Noisy nurse stations where there is a huge din disturbing their sleep.
- Delay in attending to the patient when
- The person presses the buzzer for nurses.
- The patient is taken from his bed for a scan and kept waiting.
- The patient is taken from his bed for a scan and kept waiting.
- Disrespect meted out to them by the nurses barging in unannounced without knocking.
2. Lack of clear communication from hospital staff
Patients face this problem acutely at hospitals when
- There is a changeover from one physician to another causing conflict of opinions or diagnosis.
- The patient's condition is not communicated to their family when it changes.
- The patient is not informed or reassured of his condition when a test or scan is taken.
3. Lack of professionalism on the part of the hospital staff
Patients feel disheartened and irritated by the lack of professionalism from hospital staff which is exhibited as
- Rude or brusque behaviour by nurses expressed as stern talk, not answering etc.
- Nurses on break not responding to queries
- Nurses from other departments not willing to help
- Nurses not listening to what the patient is saying
- Nurses not executing their roles efficiently.
4. Lack of hygiene in hospitals
A hospital should relieve illness not bring it in. But patients feel they would become sicker at hospitals when
- The rooms are messy
- The bathrooms stink
- The bed-covers are not changed daily
- The rooms are not cleaned every day
- The patient robes are smelly
- The dustbins are not emptied
5. Lack of orientation at hospitals
Every hospital has many floors and levels. The patients have to move here and there from one level to the next to meet the doctors, take tests or scans, etc. Often, patients feel disoriented at hospitals because
- There are no signboards or directional arrows pointing the way.
- The persons at the reception desk are not forthcoming.
- There is no one to guide the patient around the hospital.
- The consultation rooms are frequently changed.
- The whiteboards at the hospital are not updated.
6. Lack of professional efficiency due to a shortage of good doctors and nurses
Sometimes hospitals face a shortage of trained physicians and nurses and make do with those "under training". Patients find it demoralizing when they are not attended by expert physicians or experienced doctors.
Patient satisfaction should be the prime motto of any hospital. Assess this using a patient satisfaction survey and use the services of a professional health consulting firm for grievance redressal.
Patient satisfaction should be the prime motto of any hospital. Assess this using a patient satisfaction survey and use the services of a professional health consulting firm for grievance redressal.