Knowledge about Waiting Time Spent in the Emergency Department for Patients in Saudi Arabia and Overall Patient Satisfaction

Abstract

Background: Despite the modern society and medical services, waiting in emergency department is taking too long time for patients in Saudi Arabia. Time spent in the emergency department is crucial and can affect the overall health outcomes. Knowing the time spent in the emergency department and overall patient’s satisfaction can provide an important information of health care that is provided in Saudi Arabia. Comparing the time spent in the emergency department in Saudi Arabia to other countries will help us know the quality of health care provided. Objectives: Waiting in the emergency department is a global issue not only in the developing countries but also in modern countries. This study aimed at assessing how long is the waiting time spent by patients in the emergency department before receiving the medical care and the overall patients’ satisfaction. Methods: A cross-sectional study on the time spent in the emergency department before getting help for patients in Saudi Arabia and overall patients’ satisfaction was carried out on 528 participants during the period from February to March 2018. Results: 42% of the participants, indicated that the main complain that brought them to the emergency department was in the abdominal area and 29.5% of the patients spent more than one hour before getting helped from healthcare providers. 18.8% of the participants evaluated the emergency department service by 1 out of 10. Conclusion: Ourresults showed that large number of patients was suffering from waiting too long time in the emergency department before receiving the required medical care.